Team SHDE
by TheWolfbane987
Summary: Team SHDE are attending Beacon, follow their adventure as they try to survive the first year. But when a dark force threatens Beacon, SHDE has a tough decision to make, the difference between life and death, not just for them, but all of Remnant. OC's and main RWBY cast, Please Read & Review.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first story, so leaving review is always appreciated, if you have any questions about something that you have read, then drop me a PM, I'll be happy to answer any and all of them. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it.**

Shayne Oceanstrider was no ordinary wolf Faunus, he was special, but not for the reasons that people expect. If you saw him on his own you'd notice him, but in a crowd he has the innate ability to disappear and be lost among the people, even though he dresses rather conspicuously and stands at 6ft 3in.  
His entire left arm was completely covered in dark bandages. His grey wolf ears poked through his dark bandanna. As he wandered the streets of Vale towards the Airship depot to go to Beacon, he made sure to make sure he wasn't being followed, as he had come from Managerie and he knew that people here weren't as friendly as back home.

He checked the letter he had received two weeks earlier.

_He had been out in the forest doing his routine meditation when he roused himself, an autumn breeze wafted across his face, bringing with it the smells from the town; freshly baked pie from wood fired ovens, the nearby patch of Crocus, rotting leaves. He heard the sounds of wildlife busying themselves preparing for winter, and waves crashing upon the rocks to the east. He opened his eyes as a snarl emanated from behind him; he dove forward evading the massive paw._

_"You things never learn..." He turned to face the Ursa, as he did so he drew his twin katanas, "I'm going to give you one chance to leave."_

_He said now looking directly at the Ursa. He knew that it wouldn't back down, but he liked to give it some last thoughts before death. He looked down and brought he's head up a grin on his face, the Ursa swung wildly, Shayne dodged back doing a back handspring, and came at the Ursa blades blurring and cleanly dispatched the beast in a matter of moments, when he turned however he was faced by a Boarbatusk;_

_"Here little piggy" he laughed as he dodged to the side of the charging boar._

_The battle lasted longer than against the Ursa; the boar absorbed a lot of punishment. As it charged once more, Shayne thrust his sword into it, only to have his weapon snatched from his hand. The beast slowed to a halt and dropped to the floor, dead, he retrieved his blade and inspected it; a simple Katana, sharp enough to cut the air itself, efficient, clean, just how he liked it. He sheathed his blades and headed back into town._

_When he arrived back at his grandfather's house at the top of the hill, his uncle was there, as well as another man that Shayne didn't recognise, he seemed odd, maybe it was the way his glasses sat on his face. When he walked in their heads turned towards him and his uncle welcomed him with an embrace._

_"Shayne, this man has a letter for you, and he says he is under strict orders to hand it directly to you." _

_His uncle said as he walked back to the table. The man stood up and walked over to Shayne to hand him the letter. Shayne didn't take it immediately, he took his time storing his equipment in a weapons container, it was combination locked and impenetrable, making sure it was locked up properly, as there were thieves who operated even here. When he did take the letter, the man thanked his uncle for his hospitality and left._

_Shayne retreated to the seclusion of his room to read the letter. The room was fairly bare; all it contained was a wardrobe and a chest of drawers for his clothing. On the floor was a mat with an exotic design, it was heavily worn. By the window there was a wooden decorative chair, his grandfather had hand carved it for his father before his father was killed during the Faunus war. Shayne thought of him often, the same with his mother. He went and sat in the chair and gazed out of the window, lost in his memories, before reading the letter._

_The letter was an invitation to attend Beacon academy, he knew what it meant he just didn't understand why he had received it. He went to see his uncle and grandfather in the living area;_

_"Uncle..." Shane said as he walked in;_

_"I didn't apply to Beacon so how did I get accepted"_

_His uncle sighed and replied with;_

_"Shayne you and I both know that you staying here will not benefit us or your grandfather, there's almost no way to make a living, hunting has little to no demand anymore and you don't seem interested in working at the forge with me" Shayne said nothing._

_"So your grandfather and I decided to utilise your particular…'talents' and send for you to train to be a Hunter a in Vale, we applied to all the schools there and they said that you were too old to attend" Shayne was trying to make sense of what was being said,_

_"All except Beacon, they asked for a demonstration of your abilities so we had to film you in secret, luckily you didn't use the…'gift' that you have. If you had then your situation would have been different"_

_Shayne was considering what his uncle had just told him, when his grandfather spoke for the first time in a long time._

_"Shayne...you will attend Beacon...you will not argue with me or your uncle..." his voice becoming stronger the more he talked, "Come see me later out in the workshop, I have some thing's for you to use whilst attending beacon"_

_Shayne went out to see his grandfather a couple of hours later in the workshop; he had used his time by ensuring his swords were as sharp as he liked them. He did this by sharpening them by hand using a whetstone, and stripping the paint off the outside wall without his blade touching the wall, they were done when he could do it from five paces away._

_"These are for your initiation and hopefully will lead to your graduation" his grandfather said, he was stuck in a wheel chair due to health problems; he could walk, but not vey much._

_He handed a package to Shayne, who placed it on the table and opened it. It contained the most masterfully crafted pistol, tomahawk and knife that he'd ever seen. Shayne carefully unsheathed the knife, as he did so his grandfather said;_

_"It is made from the Taijitou trophy you took after you did that service for the local farms."_

_'Hm, so that's where that went', thought Shayne._

_"I can't thank you enough for these gifts, also who was that man who delivered this letter" he asked holding it up._

_"That man was an old friend; he saved me when I was dying from a King Taijitou bite. He happened to be walking in the woods and over-heard the conflict. Once the beast had been slain he carried me to the hospital, the doctors said that if it wasn't for him I wouldn't have survived" Shayne nodded, silently thanking the man for it _

_"His name is Ozpin. He was younger then, attending Beacon himself if I recall, he's now the headmaster" Shayne was astounded at this revelation, "he would have introduced himself if I hadn't told him he knew who you were, what a fortunate turn of events though. The headmaster delivering your acceptance personally"_

_Shayne wrapped up the package, thanked his grandfather once more and left the workshop. A few days after his conversation with his grandfather, Shayne was packing his things into a traditional decorative sack and arranging his weapons into a strongbox, when his uncle came into his room to inform him of the airship approaching from the west. He knew that time was short._

_Once his uncle left and he had finished packing, he knelt down on his mat and meditated._

_In his trance like state he was visited by a Grimm, the original natives of Managerie knew it as Nemea (pronounced ne-may-ya), it is believed to be extinct, but Shayne knew otherwise. When Shayne had first started meditating he had been scared, it was a direct mental link to a presumed extinct Grimm, anyone would be scared. Once he roused himself he left to board the airship bound for Vale._

Shayne's thoughts returned to the present and picked up his walking pace so he wouldn't miss the airship that would take him to Beacon to start school.


	2. Chapter 2

**At this point i should probably explain something,** _'This is a thought', This is a memory_**. I used these to make editing simpler to avoid confusion, I left them in out of simplicity.**

As he sat there among the various boxes and crates on the cargo deck of the airship, Shayne had made sure he was alone before settling down, he listened to the sounds around him, not only could he hear the roar of the engines but him being a Faunus, he could also make out some of the conversations on the decks above him;

"Oh, I can't believe my sister is going to Beacon with me, this is the best day ever!" came a loud voice that was clearly very excited.

_'I hope I don't bump into that bundle of fun anytime soon'_ thought Shayne that conversation carried on for a little while until a news report came on, something about a Dust store robbery and a Faunus civil rights protest turning dark due to the white fang.

It then changed to an announcement;

"Hello and welcome to Beacon, my name is Glynda Goodwitch, you are among a privileged few who have received the honour of being selected to attend this prestigious academy…"

Shayne stopped listening at this point as he heard footsteps approaching the door.

_'Damn, I thought no-one would come down here until we arrived.'_ Shayne thought to himself whilst silently hiding behind some crates.

The door opened and two people walked in, even with his night vision Shayne couldn't make out their faces. The larger of the two spoke first,

"I saw a security monitor when I walked past the control room, I saw a Faunus sitting down here hiding like the scum that their kind is" Shayne gritted his teeth at that. "I thought that we might pay him a visit and make sure he knows who's boss around here"

_'Crap, I should have been more careful'_Shayne swore inwardly.

The second voice rang out around the room;

"Where are you? We know that you're down here, come out and we promise not to hurt you….much"

"You'll have to come get me". Shayne called at them. 'They won't know what hit them'.

He turned to look at his accomplice;

"You go round that way, and I'll go this way"

His partner nodded and proceeded to move through the boxes. He stumbled crashing into a crate;

"Fuck, that hurt" he said quietly

Fortunately for them the airship slowed to a halt at Beacon before they could find him.

"You were lucky; I know what you look like so if I see you, you'd better watch out." The more commanding of the two yelled as they left.

_'As were you asshole, I'd better wait a minute or two before disembarking, just in case'_ he mused.

Not long after they left, Shayne left the cargo deck and disembarked along with the crowd. Shayne thought he would be able to hide in the crowd but unfortunately for him he stood out somewhat from the others, by about 3 or four inches. It was a miracle that he made it to the auditorium, doubly so after that incident involving two girls and some dust out at the front of the school, it caused a bit of a backlog with the other airships emptying of students.

When he eventually made it to the auditorium it was already filling up with students, so he decided to do as he normally did, to watch without being seen and vaulted up to a high window ledge and settled down, he didn't have to wait long before Ozpin, who he recognized from when he received his acceptance letter, took to the stage and made his welcome speech.

"Not much of a welcome, huh", came a voice from beside him, Shayne nearly fell off of his perch when she spoke.

"How long have you been sat there" he asked with a look of surprise on his face.

"About a couple minutes" she said with a slight grin on her face, she knew what his next question would be.

"How did you get up here without me noticing?" the crowd started to leave the hall,

"It's my semblance", she said with a wink.

"Aah, so it's nothing I can learn then?"

"You sure are asking a lot of questions for someone who hasn't even told me their name, well anyway mines Hanna, Hanna Wraithblade" she said as she dropped from the ledge and wandered towards the door.

He took the time to study her appearance she was about 5ft 9, blonde and slender, he could see she had some definite muscle; they rippled against her white, skin tight, leather leggings. Her weapon was a simple half-length katana, made for close quarters combat and quick kills. It didn't strike him as a weapon suited for killing Grimm, it looked like it should be used against human targets.

As she reached the door she stopped and called to Shayne;

"You know that we're all supposed to gather in the ballroom tonight for sleep"

"Yeah, what of it" he yelled back to her.

She left without answering him. When arrived at the ballroom a few hours later, he found a spot near a window but far enough from everyone else so as not to be noticed. As he was settling down he thought back to the last few hours and to whom he had met.

_When he left the auditorium he looked both ways and saw Hanna walking east towards the library, Shane decided to head north towards the training fields to see what kind of people were attending he also had an ulterior motive for going ,he liked knowing where people were weakest, he liked knowing just in case he needed that information later._

_When he got there he found an empty sparring arena and waited, he was only there five minutes when a voice he recognized from earlier that day called out across the field._

_"Hey look who it is, it's my Faunus friend from the cargo deck, do you know who I am?" The voice spat at Shayne._

_"I only came here to keep my skills sharp, not to embarrass you in front of all these people" Shayne said without looking up._

_"Yeah, yeah, we'll see about that, before I beat your ass, what's your name?"_

_"Shayne Oceanstrider"_

_"Well I'm Cardin Winchester you'd better remember that, now, let's draw a crowd", he then started making a lot of noise, ensuring that the fight would be watched. When he finished he turned to face Shayne;_

_"We'll be using fists, as unarmed combat is an integral part of what we are here to do"_

_"Very well" Shayne said and removed his weaponry and put it to the side._

_By this time word had gotten round the entire campus, as Cardin was apparently one of the best fighters attending this year. Someone he hadn't previously met came up to him, she had dark hair and a bow, all she said was;_

_"Be careful, Cardin is known to be anti-Faunus", Shayne nodded. He was going to enjoy this. _

_After a few moments the fight began._

_Cardin swung first and Shayne ducked under and caught him across the jaw with a right hook, Cardin stumbled backwards but came back with a flurry of jabs and hooks, Shayne dodged or blocked most of them. He took a couple of hits to the body and more than a few to the head, when he eventually relented, Shayne was bleeding from several cuts around his face and from the lip, he also knew that at least two of his ribs were bruised, he could see Cardin was tired so he stood up straight, grinned and said, with a cough;_

_"That all you got?" Shayne said wiping his mouth._

_When Cardin had his breath back, he was more clumsy with his punches, and as soon as Shayne saw an opportunity he capitalized on it, striking him with left and rights across the face and lower abdomen, punishing him for thinking himself the best without proof, punishing him for the threats and the bullying of the other Faunus, but mostly because all he could see was red._

_Before he could do any lasting damage, Cardin retreated and four others came to his aid. Shayne stopped anyone from helping him; he had a point to prove. He dealt with the four assailants with ease and moved to engage Cardin once more; Shayne had expected Cardin to cheat at some point, so when Cardin came at him with his flanged mace, he disarmed him._

_Cardin fell backwards and scrambled away from Shayne all the way to the edge of the cliff, where they both stopped. Shayne stood over him and just looked at him, Cardin saw the fury in his eyes dissipate, Shayne offered a hand to Cardin, this bought him some odd looks but he ignored them, Cardin took the hand and as Shayne walked away, Cardin took the opportunity to attack Shayne from behind with a knife, Shayne turned in a split second, knocked the blade from Cardin's grasp, caught him by the throat and glared at. Only Cardin could see that Shayne's eyes had turned completely red._

_Hanna and another blonde girl stepped in to break it up before it got out of hand. Cardin then skulked away, battered and bruised, but alive. A great cheer rang out from the crowd present as he walked over to re-equip his weapons. He stood to the side and said poetically;_

_"The floor is open for those who wish to do the dance of combat" He turned and walked away, the blonde who had helped break up the fight called to him;_

_"Hey, you want a real challenge?"__He grinned and replied;_

_"Are you sure this is going to be a challenge" and strode back to the arena shedding his weapons, jacket and shirt as he went._

_"The names Yang by the way, what's up with your arm" she asked;_

_"Nothing, just ignore the bandages, I want a proper fight"_

_They were both evenly matched as they each landed similar blows, eventually Shayne won by sending Yang flying out of the ring.__After the fight they acknowledged each other's skills and parted as friends.__The day went on in a similar fashion; he even missed lunch and dinner as he was still being challenged by various other students. Yang stayed and supported Shayne all day, she introduced him to her sister as they parted before they had to go to the ballroom, her name was Ruby Rose._

His mind came back to him and noticed someone walking up to him, it was the dark haired girl from earlier, she came and crouched next to him and quietly said;

"Thank you" this struck Shayne as odd so he replied;

"What for?"

"For dealing with Cardin, he's an ass and needed to be taught a lesson"

"Whatever you say kitty cat, your secret is safe with me" he said with a wink and a slight smile;

"What!" she exclaimed, "How could you possibly know?"

"Well, I'm a Faunus too, but don't worry I can tell you don't want people to know" Shayne said calmly,

"Anyway what's your name?"

"Blake Belladonna" she said before turning and walking away

"Well, it was nice meeting you Blake"

He turned his head to address the shadowy figure in the corner.

"You can come out now Hanna, I know you're there"

Shayne glanced up to see her in her night clothes, they were like her casual and combat clothes, functional not stylish with weapon storage capabilities. Though Shayne thought they could use a little more fabric, as they didn't leave much to the imagination.

"You learned to detect me in the last couple of minutes, impressive" she said as she sat down opposite Shayne.

"I've been locked onto your presence all day; always keeping track, you were one of those who stayed all day, so what did you learn?"

She sat there and told him what she had learned about his technique and his skills; he learned that he was exposed when fighting with his tomahawk on his left side. He thanked her for this information. She got up to leave but hesitated;

"Can I sleep here tonight, I have many enemies from my past and until I have a team at my back, I don't feel safe"

Shayne considered it and replied;

"I don't mind either way, I won't be sleeping anyway"

"Why don't you sleep?" she inquired,

"It's complicated"

The rest of the night passed with only one incident and that was an argument between Yang, Ruby, Blake, and someone he hadn't been introduced to, Hanna said that she was called Weiss Schnee and was the heiress to the Schnee dust company. Once that had settled down Hanna went to sleep and Shayne meditated.

When Shayne woke from his meditation it was 5:53am, he packed away his bedroll and as he stood he noticed that Hanna had vanished he paid no mind to this, instead he went to the locker room to prepare for initiation.

He removed his bandages while he showered. He had large black tattoos depicting various Grimm covering his left arm down to his wrist, once he had finished, he thoroughly dried his arm and re-wrapped his arm in new bandages before putting on his combat gear. His combats were just a reinforced version of his casual clothes, though he preferred wearing his combats_, 'because you never know when you may be attacked'_.

His outfit consisted of a sleeveless, stab-proof shirt and jacket combo, the jacket hung around his ankles and had deep black fur around the neck, taken from the nape of an Ursa; on the inside and outside of the jacket were large pockets for any occasion, across his breast there were several bullets, each marked differently for the dust used in its construction. He wore dark jeans that had been adjusted to allow for more manoeuvrability, they had a loop of leather for holding the tomahawk. Once happy that his outfit was in order he went through a mental checklist of his weaponry;

- His twin katanas, that his father had left for him before going to fight in the Faunus war.

- The Tomahawk his grandfather had given him, Shayne had found out later that his grandfather had used it in the fight against the Taijitou when he met Ozpin.

- His Taijitou tooth knife.

- And his uncles pistol, a .70 calibre pistol. Shayne never named his weapons; he didn't see the point in it. When fired the pistol would simultaneously fire both barrels, killing whatever stood in their path, though it required heavy cleaning between uses to be most effective so he didn't use it much; it was double barrelled in a top-bottom loading style to allow for separation into two fire-arms.

After storing his equipment about his person he left the locker room and stepped out into the morning air.

**Please leave a review, i love feedback especially as this is my first ever fanfic.**


	3. Chapter 3

He took a walk of the grounds, then headed towards the cafeteria, on his way there he heard a familiar voice, it was Cardin,_'what's he doing out here, I thought he would still be asleep'_ Shayne thought to himself. While taking care not to be seen, he crept to peer around the corner, Cardin was harassing a Faunus girl he hadn't met, and when he finally left Shayne went to the girl's side;

"Hey, are you okay? Cardin is an asshole, just ignore him"

The girl got up and looked away from Shayne;

"I would have helped, but after yesterday, I'm not sure he would have got away as he did then", he said with a serious look on his face

The girl looked up at him and said;

"Thank you anyway, I-I'm Velvet Scarlatina" She looked him in the eyes before turning and walked away; Shayne watched her leave and began walking towards the cafeteria once more.

When he arrived, he instinctively got food and found a place to be in peace; however he was found all too quickly by some familiar faces, Yang, Ruby and Hanna were all walking straight towards him, talking loudly.

"Hey Shayne, how are you today, feeling the hurt from yesterday?" Yang said with that seemingly endless amount of energy she seems to take wherever she goes.

"No, meditation heals and repairs Aura faster than sleeping does", Shayne said without looking up from his pancakes.

"Oh, okay" she said before starting another conversation.

The conversation continued to wash over Shayne, he caught some of it, but none of it was information he could use, just gossip. The conversation came to a stop when Yang and Ruby left to get ready, Hanna turned to Shayne;

"You ready, the Emerald Forest has been officially designated infested, and Beacon still does initiation there, can you believe it"

"Yeah, I know, it doesn't bother me, anything that gets in my way I either kill or lead it to other Grimm and make my challenge more fun" Shayne said with a look of pure concentration on his face.

Then a voice came over the loudspeaker;

'Would all first year students please report to beacon cliffs immediately', Hanna and Shayne looked at each other and Hanna said with a grin;

"Time to go"

Once they arrived at beacon cliffs they took the first empty pads they saw and waited. The guy to Shayne's right broke the quiet while Ozpin was speaking;

"Hi, I'm Dundra"

"Shayne", he said shaking his hand.

"Interesting assortment of weapons you have there Shayne", Dundra said, motioning to Shayne's equipment.

"You have a similar assortment yourself"

Dundra had a large kite shield with his emblem spreading from the boss, a single headed, two handed battle-axe, and a broadsword with Dust crystals inset into the hilt. Dundra was one of the physically commanding people Shayne had ever seen, standing at roughly 6ft 7 with broad shoulders; he looked like he could lift a fully grown Ursa. He wore a full set of scale armour but it was the purest white Shayne had ever seen, 'That must take some cleaning' Shayne thought as he readied himself.

They wished each other luck before being jettisoned into the air.

While flying over the trees Shayne used his senses to gather information; he looked up and saw Dundra using his shield as a glider to slow his descent, he could hear human movement in the tree tops below him and he watched a scraggly haired boy get speared out of the sky. He realized that he was on a collision course with a large tree, in a single movement he ripped his bandages from his left arm and hit the tree.

He kept running hopping over roots and dodging low branches, eventually slowing to a stop. He looked back at the tree, grinned, shook his head and started walking.

He had been walking not five minutes when he heard a variety of sounds from around him. From the shrubbery came Ursa, Beowolves and Boarbatusks alike, Shayne adjusted his footing and drew one of his blades, unbuttoned the holster for his pistol and readied his tomahawk, a Boarbatusk charged first.

Shayne ran at the beast and swung his Tomahawk in an upward arc, which sent the beast skyward and skewered it with his sword, he watched it fall to the ground and retrieved his blade and smiled, _'this is going to be fun'_, he thought, beckoning the beasts. They all rushed him; Shayne hit the incoming Grimm head on.

Every time he cut one down another took its place, after a few minutes he had taken care of them. The Grimm had either been killed or they had run away, now a new challenge stood before him, on six legs. _'A Deathstalker,_ _wonderful',_ Shayne thought. Shayne took a deep breath and charged; the Deathstalker blocked his charge with its large claw and sent him flying through the air. He landed solidly but slid backwards leaving trails in the dirt.

The Deathstalker was about to strike when a white flash darted across its stinger, almost severing it from its tail, Shayne remembered both Hanna and Dundra had white outfits, as did Weiss. When he heard a voice call to him from behind;

"Hey, thought you could use a hand" he turned to face her.

As Hanna stepped up beside him, he took out Jackpot and handed her one half of the split pistol and told her;

"Use it when I tell you" he told her the simple plan and set it in motion.

The duo would divide and whoever drew its attention would keep on the offensive, to distract the giant arachnid, while the other would circle round to the back and sever the tail completely. Shayne drew the short straw of distraction while Hanna took care of the tail. The purpose of removing the tail, Shayne reasoned, was to enrage the beast further, making it reckless. The plan went exactly as planned, although Shayne was thrown backwards when its tail was severed, Hanna joined him shortly. They both brought up both halves of the split pistol, Shayne's was upright, while Hanna's went over his arm and rested on top sideways, and fired.

The bullets hit the Deathstalker in the centre of its head, Shayne's hit slightly before Hanna's, shattering the armour plating, and allowed her bullet to enter its head and detonate destroying the brain. The beast dropped dead, and Hanna handed back the pistol to Shayne who stowed it away and wiped his weapons of blood before sheathing them. Then they carried on heading towards the forest temple.

Once they arrived, they could see the definite signs of a battle; a wall of ice, some torn red fabric, and a lot of Nevermore feathers. While Shayne was investigating the area Hanna went and took the Black Rook piece from its pedestal. When Shayne returned to Hanna she said;

"Do you play chess Shayne?" He shook his head;

"Well I do, I picked the Black Rook for us because we may not move first, but we always do our job right" she said with a look of great understanding for her age. She handed the chess piece to Shayne as she had no pockets.

"Nice tattoos by the way", she said, reminding him that they were visible.

Just then, a large figure dressed in white, came flying from the tree line, shortly followed by a smaller one.

"Ow...h-hey Shayne how's it going" Dundra said as Shayne helped him up, Hanna was helping his small companion;

"Not bad Dundra, are you guys ok?" Shayne asked, Shayne hadn't met Dundra's partners face yet;

"Me and Eddi here, were having trouble with a King Taijitou, but I think it's stuck in the trees"

Just then a Taijitou broke several trees as it entered the clearing, _'some people have the worst luck'_, thought Shayne;

"Eddi grab a relic, my pockets are full", Eddi turned and Shayne saw that Eddi was a girl that used a combination of knives and various firearms ranging from pistols and sub-machine guns to rifles, as weapons, Shayne had never seen such an array of firepower. She simply nodded and grabbed the other black Rook piece and secured it. Shayne wondered what the significance of the chess pieces was.

Meanwhile Dundra had run to face the serpent and was doing a good job at taking a lot of hits, though most were blocked by his shield which could protect his entire body even being as big as he was, after Dundra had blocked a strong bite with his shield, having it torn from his grasp, Shayne and Hanna wandered over, shortly followed by Eddi.

"If you insist on fighting this thing then you're not doing it alone" Shayne said as they drew close, Eddi went to his aid, helping him up, he handed her his axe which she deftly transformed into a shotgun.

The group took turns holding the reptile at bay while a plan was formulated; it culminated in Shayne firing both barrels of Jackpot into its eye, while Eddi doing the same with Dundra's shotgun, the interesting part was getting its two heads lined up properly. The four strangers attacked as one cohesive unit, hitting in perfect placement in order to bring the heads down to where they wanted them, (Shayne, unbeknownst to his team mates used his 'gift' to force the serpent to submit, they didn't notice as they were caught up in the moment) and as Dundra and Hanna held the heads down, both Shayne and Eddi fired all four rounds into both heads, killing it instantly. As the others were celebrating Shayne took four small teeth from the lower jaws of the snake and joined his companions as they made their way back to the cliff.


	4. Chapter 4

Later that evening was the initiation ceremony where the teams would be assigned. Shayne had still not put his bandages back on, he felt exposed but free without them, and he liked it. Before long, the last teams were being called;

"Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long, from this point forth you shall be known as... team RWBY, led by…Ruby Rose", Ozpin called, Shayne knew that meant he, Hanna, Dundra and Eddi were in a team together.

"Shayne Oceanstrider, Hanna Wraithblade, Dundra Forman and Eddi Purespring, from this point on you shall be known as team SHDE, led by...", Shayne expected Dundra to be chosen to lead, as he had come up with the plan against the Taijitou;

"Shayne Oceanstrider, who also had the highest single kill score for the last ten years, let's take a look..."

All heads turned to the screen, it showed him fighting against the horde of Grimm, it then cut to him and Hanna taking down the Deathstalker and finally to him and his new found team mates against the Taijitou, unfortunately the cameras caught what his team mates didn't at the time, they saw him use Grimm to pull the serpent to the ground, as the video played out, the hall fell silent and whispers started, Ozpin then started the applause, allowing them to leave the stage, they decided to leave and go to their dorm to avoid confrontation.

When they got there they sat on the beds and sat in silence, it was Eddi, who broke the silence by saying;

"I know what we're all thinking, who's going to ask about it, and as I don't like awkward silences it might as well be me. So Shayne..." He looked up;

"How long have you had that power? How did you get it?"

Shayne breathed deeply and said quietly;

"I have had the tattoos since I was born according to my grandfather, though I only realised the power I had when I turned 13, I almost killed another boy for bullying me, all I did was look at him and he started to bleed from the nose, I had to be sedated and taken home. When I later tried to reconcile he just made me an outcast. So I tried to remove the tattoos but failed, I was out in the woods near to my village in a clearing I liked to meditate in, it was then that I first met 'him'"

"Who's 'Him'?'" asked Dundra patiently, Shayne shook his head, he merely said;

"That is a conversation for a different time, for now, we should work out what to do with my bed as I won't need it"

They sat there thinking until Dundra said;

"We could turn it into a couch"

No-one disagreed so they set about converting the bed into a sofa. With that done they unpacked, Shayne called them together later on that same evening;

"I have gifts for each of you, I had already planned this, and I just required the final piece for them"

He walked over to his drawers and took out a small hand carved box; he went and sat down opposite them. He opened the box, inside we're four identical charms made of carved beads with a Taijitou tooth medallion, as he handed them to the others he said;

"The tooth was taken from the King Taijitou from the forest"

Hanna went and stood in front of the window and raised a glass in a toast and said;

"To team SHDE..." Dundra chimed in with;

"To Shayne" Hanna wanted to tell Shayne something so they stepped out.

"Shayne, I have no doubt in my mind, you will make an excellent leader" before she entered the room she kissed him on the cheek and winked at him, when he went back in, the rest of the team were ready for bed so he said goodnight and switched out the lights. He shed his clothes and changed into his track suit bottoms and remained shirtless, he knelt down in front of the window and meditated.

The next morning, Shayne woke later than normal, around five to eight, but seeing as no-one else had woken up yet, he went for a shower. While he was washing he could hear the others waking from their slumber. Luckily he'd had the fore-thought to take his uniform into the bathroom with him. Shayne dried and dressed quickly. He didn't like the shoes that were provided with the uniform, so he just put his boots on instead. He left the bathroom, to see everyone lining up to use the bathroom, he apologized for taking so long and went to his section of the room.

He waited until no-one was watching and secreted his knife in his boot sheath,_'you can't be too careful'_, Shayne thought to himself. Once they were all fed and ready, they headed to class, History, with Dr Oobleck. When they arrived they found seats and the professor began the lecture, he opened with Faunus history, which Shayne knew by heart so he ignored the lecture entirely, Dr Oobleck noticed that Shayne wasn't paying any attention so he decided to question him;

"Mr Oceanstrider, what was the main advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune at the battle of Fort Castle", Shayne stood out of respect, and also to make sure he was heard;

"Sir, the main advantage the Faunus had was their near perfect night-vision, being a Faunus myself, I learned this when I was young, my grandparents fought in the war, so I know the pain and suffering they went through, all too well..." Shayne now walked towards the door;

"So professor, when you have finished teaching about the Faunus war, let me know so that I may return to class, until then, don't expect to see me here".

With that he left, Hanna stood shortly after and went after him;

"Hey what was that about, you were only asked a question!", Shayne stopped and turned to face her, with obvious pain in his eyes, he let her catch up before saying in the quietest voice she had ever heard from him;

"What I didn't mention was, that I lost my grandmother to the war, not long after my parents were killed as well, so every time it is brought up, all I think about is them, sometimes it gets too much and I do things I regret" he said not daring to look Hanna in the eye.

"Wanna go get a drink?" She suggested, Shayne nodded and headed to their dorm, Hanna followed.

When they arrived Shayne ensured he locked the door and went to his drawers and removed a large black case and carried it to where Hanna was sat;

"My uncle, gave this to me before I boarded the airship for vale", he opened it carefully, inside resting on maroon velvet was a decanter, filled with a dark golden liquid.

"He said to have a glass every time my thoughts turned homeward, and to toast the spirits of the dead", he poured two glasses and offered one to Hanna;

"What is it?" she asked politely;

"Whiskey mixed with bourbon, my father's favourite; we drank a glass at each of the birthdays of my parents and grandmother, and shared memories, not that I had any of course"

Hanna refrained from mentioning that having alcohol on campus was disallowed, she drank the strong drink slowly, when she had finished she handed the glass back to him. Shayne just sat there holding his, Hanna could feel the heat rising from her belly, she could remember all the times she had felt similar; she remembered her and her father, sat by a fire roasting marshmallows and couldn't stop herself from smiling.

Shayne could see the look on her face and could tell she was thinking of the past, she turned away, wiped her eyes and stood and walked to the window, Shayne refilled both glasses, and walked over to her, she took the glass again, and Shayne made a toast;

"To the past, To the fallen, To the memories..."

"To the future", Hanna finished, they shared a smile and downed the drink in a single gulp.

"Thank you Shayne, I hadn't thought of my past for a long time"

"We should get to class, it's time for Grimm studies with Professor Port", Shayne said and they ran to class.


	5. Chapter 5

Part way through the lecture Port called on Shayne;

"Mr Oceanstrider, could you come give us a demonstration of your abilities?" Cardin chose this point to interject;

"What! Why him, He's just Faunus scum!"

"Mr Winchester, sit down! I asked Shayne due to his unusual powers that we witnessed on the video yesterday, Mr Oceanstrider the floor is yours, we'll give you a couple of minutes to change", Port looked at Cardin with disdain due to his racist comment.

"No need, I'm ready", Shayne said already having removed his jacket and shirt, he walked down to the front of the hall putting on his gloves, when he arrived he transformed them into gauntlets, the plate on the back of his palm extended backwards taking fabric with it and the fingers got metal scale on top. He stood ready, completely shirtless with his tattoos showing, since the video had revealed his markings he hadn't bothered to replace his bandages, he noticed that some of the girls were paying him great attention. He grinned slightly, though he remained focused on the cage;

"Professor, I'll handle the lock, I suggest standing to the side with the others"

"I don't think that's wise, but if you insist", Port complied out of apprehension of what Shayne could do and moved to take a seat among the students.

Shayne glared at the cage, held his left hand up and as the cage door was coated in a black substance, Shayne whipped his hand away the door came off completely and hit the wall behind him. The Ursa came running from the suddenly open cage but slowed to a halt mere inches from Shayne's face. Hanna watched wide eyed, Shayne tilted his head, and the Ursa did the same, she noticed that Shayne's eyes were locked with the Ursa's, they were also a similar colour, when Shayne stood straight the Ursa reared, he suddenly punched it straight in its soft underbelly and it slid across the room. It came back at Shayne enraged, swiping wildly; Shayne created a portal beneath his feet and fell on the Ursa from above, landing on its head and grabbing hold of its armour plating. When his feet hit the ground he wrenched its head left violently, an audible snapping sound echoed around the room, and Shayne tore the head of the lifeless body of the Ursa, blood spurted onto him from the neck of the beast, Shayne dropped the head onto the floor. A portal opened under the Ursa and it disappeared.

Professor Port thanked him for his demonstration, with an obviously nervous tone in his voice, and dismissed the class. Shayne was unable to hear anything that had been said during his demonstration, as all he had been able to hear was a loud ringing. Hanna watched the entire time, she heard Port, shouting at Shayne to stop, he thought Shayne was being too brutal and ordered him to mercy kill it, he thought Shayne ignored him and pulled the head off. Shayne left his ears still ringing.

Later that day in the dorm, Shayne had taken a walk into the town to get some Dust crystals cut, to specific dimensions. While he was out Hanna told Dundra and Eddi about what had happened during professor ports class;

"... I tell you, it was almost beast-like the way he killed it, some of the other students actually said it seemed cruel"

"Hmph, Shayne never seemed like the kind of guy who would do that, although it's not as if we know much about him", Dundra said when Hanna had finished;

"Someone just posted this on the Internet", Eddi said as she brought up the video, sure enough the video showed the entire fight minus the cage being ripped open;

"I thought you were exaggerating, so I went online, it's gone viral ", Eddi said as the video ended.

"I think we need to hear his side before we make any conclusions" Hanna said as Eddi took her Scroll back, just then they heard definite footsteps coming down the corridor, and Shayne walked in holding a backpack.

He stopped when he realised that the others were staring at him from the sofa. He knew what they were thinking, so he quietly put the backpack in a corner and grabbed a box and sat in front of them,

"Well, ask away, I know by now you've found out about what I did", he said looking at Hanna, and she held his gaze to look for the Shayne she saw before. She didn't find anything, she didn't know if that was good or bad.

Dundra spoke first. "What happened, you know, when you fought the Ursa?" Shayne breathed deeply, he was about to open a door that once opened he couldn't close without being completely honest.

"I said the other day that I made that kids nose bleed when I was younger, well when I realised I had that power I took to the forest, there I learned to control it, but I also tested to see what I could do with it"

"What could you do with it?" Hanna asked.

"I could manipulate physical beings and objects, commune with the Grimm, which is how I controlled the Ursa, create portals to allow for greater manoeuvrability in battle", Dundra didn't like the part about communicating with the Grimm.

"This power is more of a curse, as the last thing I found I was able to do, I did by accident. I had been filming myself sleeping for several nights as part of a project I was doing. The day after the incident with the nose bleed, I had been bullied about my curse; I had been assaulted by a group of boys. I was injured and angry, but I slept anyway. It was a Saturday so I went for a walk and part of the town had been destroyed and some people were dead including one of those who had attacked me, witnesses said it was a human Grimm, but no-one believed them. When I got home I reviewed the tape, I saw myself sleeping but then I rose and started transforming into a beast of Grimm" Dundra got up at this and moved to the window, he could feel fury rising in his veins; "

"I knew then that I had done it without knowing it. From that day forth I have never slept and told nobody that it was me. It has only happened once more since then";

"I was participating in a town tournament, I was refusing to stay down and shouting at the referee to let the fight continue, we fought until someone was knocked unconscious or they submitted, I was doing neither and was taking a beating for it. I took a heavy hit, I went down and stayed down, and the referee began his count. I was unconscious before he even started counting, before I knew it I was standing, but I felt as though I was watching from behind myself. I watched my body beat him to an inch of his life before I regained control, I technically won the fight but because of what I had just witnessed I forfeited and went home. There now you know everything" Shayne finished;

"What I did to that bear wasn't me, it was 'Him', all I saw was red and I could hear ringing in my ears, it was all could do to get my body back and not react, I used a portal to remove the bear, I put it in the forest". When his teammates had taken this information in, it took a few minutes; Hanna broke the heavy silence;

"What's passed is past, we can't do anything but support you while you fight this, we're a team now" Dundra and Eddi remained silent.

Shayne opened the box that had been sat on his lap;

"I had my uncle make these; I knew that this would come out eventually so I took precautions. These guns each have a single bullet and are for the sole purpose of killing me if the Darkness ever takes hold permanently or escapes, if it does escape as long as im alive it will draw power from me. There is one for each of you"

They each took one of the guns, Hanna somewhat reluctantly whereas Dundra and Eddi took them easily, and looked at Shayne;

"Keep them with you, as you never know when I'll turn, but enough of this, let's go eat"

They got up and went to dinner, they hadn't shunned him or called him a freak, though he still had his doubts about Dundra, as he had not been himself since Shayne had started talking, they treated him as they did before, for the first time in a long time he felt at peace.


	6. Chapter 6

The days after the incident in Professor Port's class passed without any interruptions and things returned to normal. By Saturday everyone knew about Shayne's 'outburst' but nobody mentioned it. On Saturday the four went into Vale to do some errands, Shayne went to see about his Dust crystals, Hanna went with him. Once Shayne had picked up his order, Hanna asked him something;

"Hey Shayne..."

"Yes Hanna" he replied slowing his walking pace to match hers.

"Do you want to come back into town tonight and go to a club I know, just the two of us"

"As a date?"

"No, not as a date, just two friends", she said hurriedly.

"What about Dundra and Eddi", Shayne asked.

"They've made plans to go see a movie later", Hanna said almost dismissively.

"I don't see why not, if I start drinking make sure I don't do anything stupid", Shayne said while looking in her eyes. She knew why.

"So it's settled, we'll go out to the club, while D and Ed see a movie". She said with delighted glee on her face, she stopped suddenly and turned to Shayne.

"We'll need a vehicle to get there though". Hanna added with concentration on her face.

"Don't worry, I'll work something out". Shayne said calmly.

The rest of the day went by steadily, and the four met up for lunch. Dundra took his turn to pay the bill, but still moaned about Hanna's expensive tastes.

"I don't see why she had to have the filet when the side is so much cheaper" He complained, Eddi shushed him, while Hanna just laughed.

Shayne took the time to examine the faces of his team more closely. Dundra had a shaved bald head and a small goatee, he also had a scar running down the right hand side of his face, and his skin was clearly weathered from being a farm worker before becoming a hunter.

Eddi's face was smooth and her skin was pale, her features could be described as impish, even her ears were slightly pointed. She was slender, but she showed definite signs of strength despite her small stature. Her dark vest top matched her bottoms, not only in colour but in the amount of weapons that adorned them. Shayne wondered how she could even move carrying all of them. He then turned his attention to Hanna;

Her hair was mid length and a golden blonde, almost the same colour as Yang's, her features were almost perfect but there were several scars that cut across it, they were barely visible most of the time, because she wore makeup to hide them, but in the mornings they were vivid against her face. Shayne said that he needed to get back to store his things and they departed. By the time they got back it was almost time for Dundra and Eddi to go, Hanna went to get ready and Shayne went to talk to Yang. He arrived at team RWBY's dorm just as Yang was heading out.

"Hey, Yang do you have a minute" Shayne said as he walked up to her.

"Oh, hi Shayne, yeah, I've got some time, what's up?" She said in that bouncy manner she has.

"What are you doing tonight?" Shayne asked;

"Not a lot, just homework, why?" she answered quizzically.

"It's just that, Hanna and I need a mode of transportation to go into town tonight, and I was wondering if I could borrow your bike?" Shayne said sincerely.

"Sure, just bring it back in one piece, okay". She said putting her fists on her hips.

He agreed and she gave him the keys. When he got back to his dorm Hanna was almost ready, so he got changed into a black short sleeved shirt and dark jeans, he made sure to bring his tooth knife, 'never can you be too careful'. Once he was ready, he waited for Hanna. When she came out of the bathroom he thought she looked beautiful, she had to change as he told her that they were taking Yang's bike. She was wearing a low cut top and jeans, she said she would change out of them when they got to the club, as she had packed a skirt that matched her top.

The ride to the club took a few minutes and when they arrived they got some odd looks, but they paid no attention to them. Once inside they were searched for weapons using X-ray and metal detectors._ 'Good thing I picked the bone knife'_, Shayne thought to himself. As they walked through to the club they hit a wall of noise, Shayne had to concentrate in the beginning to prevent a headache forming. Before they could get very far security pulled them aside, a man with dark facial hair asked them;

"Okay we don't want any trouble, so were going to ask you to leave"

"What! We just got here", Hanna said furiously

"Hanna, go wait over there, let me find out what's going on..." Shayne pointed to a sofa in a corner, she hesitated but went when Shayne gave her a stern look.

"Now, what seems to be the problem?"

"Well, we have security footage of a girl who came here on that bike and wrecked the place" said the man again. Shayne watched the tape and said;

"That's Yang, I borrowed her bike to come here tonight, and I promise there won't be any trouble from us"

Security took his word and let them stay. Shayne walked over to Hanna,

"What's the verdict?" she said as he approached.

"We can stay as long as we don't cause trouble, now, you want a drink?" Shayne asked with a smile.

The evening was going well until about 11:45 when Hanna went to get some air. When she didn't come back Shayne went looking for her, he searched the club, when he couldn't find her he asked the doorman if he'd seen her, he told Shayne she took a walk around the block heading east, Shayne got his hand stamped to be able to get back in when they got back, and set off east round the block. He was about half way round when he heard screams and cries for help.

Shayne sprinted down the alleyway to find Hanna being over powered by six men who were clearly trying to rape her, Shayne charged and took out two with a running kick, the others quickly caught on to what was happening, the biggest of them held Hanna while the others circled Shayne. Hanna was crying and her clothes were ripped to shreds. Shayne being a hunter in training took them out with relative ease, he was right to bring a knife as Hanna's assailants were all armed, once the others were dealt with, he turned to the one holding Hanna, who proceeded to throw her to the ground, he produced a large serrated blade and Shayne had to dodge a slash, Shayne seizing his opportunity, the large man had left his left side exposed when he swung at Shayne, he rushed the man with his knife and pierced his chest between the ribs, straight in his heart.

Shayne walked over to Hanna and held her saying;

"You should have got me to come with you"

Hanna didn't say anything she just sobbed into his chest. He let go of her to secrete his knife in his boot & remove his shirt, which he wrapped around her. He picked her up and carried her back to the club; he sat her outside on Yang's bike, with the bouncer watching over her, while he got their coats. He left the club and when he got on the bike, Hanna climbed on under his arms resting her head on his chest once more before speeding back to Beacon.

When they got back, Shayne unlocked the door and stepped in still carrying Hanna he put her down on her bed and noticed that Dundra and Eddi weren't back yet, he locked the door out of habit and went back to Hanna, she wasn't crying anymore, but mostly because she was dehydrated. Shayne calmed her by lying on her bed with her.

"Th-thank you Shayne, I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't come looking". She said while looking deep into his eyes.

Then she did something unexpected, she gave him a long, lingering kiss, he was unsure what to do, so he didn't kiss her back, when she fell asleep she still had her arms wrapped around him, and would periodically wake up with nightmares. Dundra and Eddi came back at 1:30am, when they crept in they noticed Shayne was on Hanna's bed. Shayne whispered;

"Guys, I'm not asleep, but I could use a hand"

Eddi turned a small lamp on, while Dundra helped Shayne get free from Hanna's grasp. Eddi came through with three coffees and they sat down on the sofa. Shayne told them what happened, and Hanna woke up once more with nightmares, and Shayne went to her side, she woke up fully and embraced him tightly, and whispered;

"Never leave me again". Shayne decided then and there that he would show his team what he had withheld from them,_ 'tomorrow'_ he thought, _'tomorrow'_. He didn't get any rest that night, for her sake.

The next morning Hanna woke up late, when she did, she saw that Shayne had fetched the desk chair and sat and faced the window, _'typical Shayne'_ she mused. She got out of bed so as not to disturb him and went for a shower. Shayne let her have a shower in peace; he turned his chair to face the door, and waited. He had already told Dundra and Eddi to meet him at beacon cliffs at mid-day. Hanna left the shower and got dressed, when she left the bathroom she saw Shayne had turned his chair around, and went to him. She sat on his lap and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Hanna, I have something to show you..." Shayne said quietly. Hanna sat up and said;

"Okay, what is it?"

"We need to meet Dundra and Ed at beacon cliffs first". They stood up and left their dorm, Shayne locked the door behind them, and met up with Dundra and Eddi, Shayne said,

"We need to go into the forest", Dundra took a running leap without question, shortly followed by Eddi. Hanna and Shayne stayed at the top of the cliff long enough for Shayne to mark a large tree with a black symbol that she didn't recognise. They followed after the others. When they reached the bottom they walked to a clearing and Shayne left Hanna standing with the others.

"Are you ready?" he asked.


	7. Chapter 7

"Stand at the edge of the clearing" Shayne commanded

Dundra didn't trust the situation that they had found themselves in, but kept his opinions to himself. Shayne stood almost in the centre of the clearing, and went down on one knee, with his left hand on the ground palm open. Shayne felt its presence coming towards him; he felt no fear, only respect. Eddi had been unsure what to expect, but she certainly didn't expect this. Hanna was still reeling from the previous night, but she was coping. Shayne felt it coming from the east, _'where else would it come from'_. Three of the group turned their attention skyward as a dark shadow passed over the clearing. Shayne had asked them not to run, Dundra told him he would stay, so long as no-one was in danger. He presumed that the dark shape was a Nevermore, and was trying to get them to run, Eddi wanted to see what happened next, and Hanna was devoted to Shayne after last night. The shape began circling the clearing, Dundra had ignored Shayne and had brought an easily concealable knife with him, he began sharpening branches, he wasn't going to let this thing take his team, like his sisters had been taken, no matter what he thought of Shayne.

_He was thirteen, he had been working on stocking the log pile for winter, and was returning to where he had been chopping the wood, his sisters were both younger than himself, they were twins. They were out collecting kindling in the forest, he realised that they hadn't returned for a while, he wasn't worried though, they had the common sense to run if a Grimm made its presence known. He had chopped another arm load of wood and was taking it to the dry store, where it would sit until winter._

_Suddenly he heard a blood chilling scream, coming from the direction of the forest. Dundra rushed to where he had been chopping wood and as he ran past grabbed the axe and sprinted to the forest. When he arrived, he saw one of his sisters about to be struck down by an Ursa, so he charged forward with pure rage in his eyes. He hit the Ursa head on and became a human shield for his sister, using the axe to absorb the brunt of the attack. He told his sister to run, though he still didn't know where her twin was. The battle was fierce but he won all the same, he suffered several cuts that he knew would heal and form scars. When he returned to the farm his dad was standing with one of his sisters, he couldn't tell them apart at the best of times, his father asked where the other sister was and Dundra told him that he hadn't seen her. The days passed slowly as his father went looking for his lost daughter, while Dundra recovered from his ordeal._

_Years passed and his father and sister lost hope, he knew she was dead long before them, as he had returned to the site a few days later and found her body; he gave her a burial where she died. A year to the day since the attack, the other sister committed suicide over the loss of her twin. Dundra's father died of a broken heart not long after, Dundra inherited all the money and his dad's land, he tried to continue the farm life but the passion for it had been replaced with a hatred for all things Grimm. Since that day he had vowed to protect the innocent and weak, anyway he could._

Shayne could hear Dundra pulling branches from trees, and the unmistakable sound of wood being shaved with a blade. He ignored this fact even though he said no weapons. He had to concentrate. Hanna was watching Shayne with longing eyes; she didn't feel safe without him near, her mind returned to the past, of her last assignment.

_Hanna was at the club. Long before she had gone to beacon, long before she met Shayne. She had received a message from her handler about a blind drop for instructions on her target. She arrived at the drop location and received the Intel, something didn't sit right when she read through the instructions, she dismissed this feeling and ensured that her equipment was perfect. Once done, she made her way to the location detailed in the Intel. She arrived at the location, and waited on an opposite rooftop. She had to wait for the club to open, which, being a club required waiting until nightfall._

_While waiting for it to open she watched the line grow around the corner, about an hour before the club was due to open a black sedan pulled up in front of the building, she saw a man in a white jacket get out and go inside. Her mark was in place. Though getting in would be tough, getting to her target unseen would be harder._

_Once the line had completely gone she heard a motorcycle approaching. It pulled up and a blonde girl got off and went inside. Hanna got up and made her way to the roof of the club. She got inside without detection, and was sticking to the shadows of the club. She was watching the blonde girl, she was sure that she was here with a purpose; Hanna could see it in her stride. Before long there was a commotion at the bar, when it died down a man strode away from the bar onto the dance floor, quickly followed by the blonde, she bent to kiss him and punched him clear across the room. A fight between her and security then broke out; Hanna utilized this unforeseen distraction and made her move._

_When she reached the back room where he was meant to be, he was nowhere to be seen, what was there was a heavily armed group of guards._

_"Hey, you're not supposed to be back here!" one shouted at her._

_Hanna wasted no time, she killed every last one of the guards. Hanna had the innate ability to separate any casualties from her memory, and forget them instantly. She went through the only other door in the room, inside was a chair. He sat in the chair his hands forming a steeple shape, his cane hanging off the arm of the chair._

_"Do come in, close the door please", Hanna stepped in and obligingly closed the door._

_With it locked behind her, she drew her sword and started walking around the room;_

_"Roman Torchwick, the police have given up looking for my mother, I know you abducted her, I want to know why", she said, coming to a stop and placing the tip of her blade to his throat._

_"Now, now there's no need to be hasty..." he said pushing the blade to the side with two fingers, "You are correct however, I did abduct your mother, but it wasn't for my purposes, I was just a middle man, all I had to do was pick her up and drop her off at an address"_

_Hanna walked around the room again to absorb this information, during which time he said,_

_"Well it's been a pleasure talking to you, but I have places to be"_

_"I didn't just come here to ask you about my mother, I have a contract to kill you", as she turned to face him, he brought his cane up, the end flipped up and he shot her through the wall. By the time she woke up he was gone and she could hear sirens. She left via the alley and reported the escape of the target. She made a silent vow to find him and her mother._

Shayne could feel him, his presence, it was almost time. Eddi watched Shayne with careful judgement. She noticed the shape was getting closer to the ground.

Shayne stood, and the shape landed in front of him, sending a cloud of dust into the air, the four shielded their eyes from the dust, when the air cleared before them stood an ancient Grimm. A Nemea, part lion, part eagle, all fearsome, Shayne turned;

"Dundra hold steady, he means you no harm", Dundra had been readying his makeshift weapon, he didn't put it down, but lowered his guard slightly.

"Shayne, what the hell is that thing" Dundra called in a worried yet angry tone.

Shayne walked over to them;

"I'm afraid I wasn't completely honest the other night, this is my final secret regarding my powers, my spirit guardian, Nemea"

"Shayne..." Hanna started

"He won't harm those wearing the Taijitou charms I made for you", their thoughts flashed to the pendant that they were all wearing.

Eddi, took this opportunity took speak her mind.

"Shayne, I have held my tongue thus far as I was unsure what to make of you, now that you have shown us this, where do you think this leaves the team?". Shayne took a moment to think;

"I think that we should ask him", he said pointing to the large Grimm in the middle of the clearing.

"We should ask him? Shayne that thing, that Grimm is nothing but a beast that needs killing" Dundra said spitting as the words left his mouth.

Without leaving time for Shayne to react Dundra had charged the Nemea, the second that he got within range, Dundra was swatted away, like a fly, by the massive paw of the Nemea. Struggling to his feet, Dundra charged again and again until Eddi stepped in;

"Dundra this is futile, all that will come of this is you dying. Just stop, we should listen to what Shayne has to say" Dundra accepted her judgement, they returned to where the others were sat.

"So, start explaining Shayne, I want to hear what you have to say" Dundra said with obvious pain and anger in his voice. Dundra noticed the Nemea was coming closer; he gripped his sharpened branch a little harder.

"I first discovered my spirit guardian when I first decided to meditate to stop the Grimm manifesting, he visited me and I was scared but he only said to visit the nearby forest and meditate there..."

Dundra was keeping an eye on the Grimm that had now lain down in the clearing;

"It took a week before I had the courage to go into the forest, I took my swords just to be safe, when I reached a large clearing, not dissimilar to this one, I meditated after about an hour, I woke with a start to find myself confronted with a Grimm that was presumed extinct by the locals but was still spoke of in legend" Shayne said looking over to the large Grimm;

"The Nemea was said to be almost impervious to blades of any kind, and since the ancients didn't have guns, the Nemea were the most feared Grimm at the time, if one became enraged it would decimate any nearby places of habitation" at this Dundra became concerned, and moved away from the now sleeping Grimm.

"I was so scared, I could hardly stand, but when I heard his voice in my mind he assured me that he meant no harm, he could sense my connection to the darkness, most of all he knew about 'Him'" Shayne stood and walked over the Nemea, the beast woke and sat up, making Dundra more uncomfortable.

"Come here all of you, Dundra put down the spear..." They got up and walked over to Shayne, Dundra hesitated before giving in, he dropped the spear and made his way slowly over to Shayne,

"Thank you, could you all join hands" they obliged and Shayne placed one hand on the forehead of the Nemea and the other on Dundra's shoulder, after a few moments a deep voice could be heard in all their minds,

"Dear children, do not fear me I mean you no harm..." Dundra opened his eyes and saw that the Nemea had gone and Shayne's hand had dropped, he closed his eyes again;

"Dundra, I know of your hatred for Grimm. I know of your losses, I feel your pain, just know that you did all you could to save your sisters, do not dwell in the past, for it will lead to your eventual undoing" Dundra broke contact and walked away tears in his eyes. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Shayne;

"I heard him Shayne, how did he know about my past..."

"Where I come from, the elders always talk about spirit guardians being able to delve into our minds and tell us what we need to hear"

The daylight was waning so they headed back their dorm. When they got back, Shayne had something to say;

"I'm sorry I wasn't completely honest with you, I was just afraid how you would take it, I'm glad you didn't force me out, especially you Dundra" the night passed with everyone talking about their pasts, everyone but Eddi. She wasn't ready to tell them anything so they dropped the subject and went to bed.


	8. Chapter 8

The morning after Shayne's big reveal was the first time the auditorium was being used for its true purpose, a duelling stage. Dundra's anger had settled, though he still didn't trust Shayne fully as of yet and probably wouldn't for a while. When Miss Goodwitch took to the stage and talked about the usage of this arena, Dundra took it upon himself to challenge Shayne.

"Is there anyone here who would like to issue a challenge" she called out, directing her voice to the entirety of the students assembled, before anyone could react Dundra called to her.

"I would" he said walking towards the stage

"Very well Mr Foreman, who do you wish to challenge?"

Dundra scanned the crowd, but he had decided whom he would challenge before he even issued it, after a few moments he calmly said;

"Shayne Oceanstrider"

This brought forth whispers and everyone's attention turned to Shayne, who had been listening with great interest to the preceding's, now stood, slowly with definite purpose, and walked towards the stage.

"Mr Foreman, is this challenge over a conflict of leadership or just a friendly sparring match to test each other's strength?" Glynda asked consulting her Scroll;

"Just a friendly bout"

"Very well standard duelling rules apply; victory is achieved by depleting your opponents Aura to red levels, rendering your opponent unarmed for ten seconds or removing them from the field of combat, gentlemen, prepare"

Shayne and Dundra took their respective positions at either side of the stage, Dundra starting with his Broadsword and shield, whereas Shayne started with just one of his Katanas drawn.

Dundra made the first move, charging Shayne with his shield in front of him, 'covering sight of your target, how foolish' Shayne thought, at the last second before he hit Shayne, he pulled his shield away giving him more force behind his thrust. Instead of being parried as Dundra had anticipated, he found nothing but air. Shayne had front flipped over his head and landed in a crouch behind him, Dundra turned on his heel and slashed at Shayne, who casually side flipped out of the way. Dundra, now facing him again, readied his guard and ran at Shayne, being careful not to lose sight of him this time; Shayne surprised him by firing a high impact round at him, faulting his guard. Dundra's step faltered when the bullet hit, Shayne capitalised using his superior agility to get inside Dundra's guard and separate him from his shield. Dundra tried in vain to regain his shield, no matter the strategy he employed Shayne was always one step ahead, though he did manage to surprise Shayne by blocking one of his attacks and catching him across the jaw with his fist. Shayne retaliated by disarming him forcing him to switch to his axe.

Shayne knew how good Dundra was with his axe, on arrival, between sparring matches he caught glimpses of him using it to take on two or three opponents at a time, Shayne thought that he should have paid more attention than he did at the time. Dundra sensed an opportunity to catch his breath and took it. He fired a barrel at a time forcing Shayne to dodge out of the path of the incoming buckshot. Shayne didn't take comfort in the fact that Dundra had expended his ammo; he could load it faster than anything he had ever seen before. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud roar followed by a fast moving axe, Shayne stepped aside and had to beat a retreat so as to not be hit, he dodged far enough back to be able to draw his tomahawk. He threw it hard at Dundra, who deftly ducked under it only to be met by Shayne's knee connecting with his forehead, sending him sprawling to the floor, his axe skidding away across the floor. Dundra tried to get up only to be met by the tip of Shayne's sword. The count finished and Shayne sheathed his blade.

"Victory goes to Shayne Oceanstrider"

Shayne proceeded to help Dundra get to his feet and reclaim his equipment before walking back to where Hanna and Eddi were sat.

"Continuing with a variation of this theme, would anyone like to issue a team challenge?" Goodwitch announced.

Shayne expected Cardin to take to the stage and issue a challenge, being the egocentric asshole of a bully that he was, but Shayne was proven wrong by one the most unlikely of people. Jaune Arc took to the stage to issue a challenge. Shayne was trying to think of a suitable challenge for team JNPR, when Jaune's voice was heard over a speaker system;

"We challenge team SHDE"

Dundra looked to Shayne who was just as surprised as him.

"Now, Mr Arc, both Mr Oceanstrider and Mr Foreman have just participated in combat and require time to rest before being able to continue" she said clearly trying to change his mind.

_'He has the look of someone set in his decision, his team don't seem to object either'_ Shayne thought to himself as his team approached the stage.

"Mr Oceanstrider, could you please talk some sense into him"

"I don't know what I'd tell him, I feel fine from that last bout what about you?" he said looking to Dundra;

"I'm fine, don't worry about me, we have to hear their opinion on this" Dundra replied looking to Eddi and Hanna

"I'm bored anyway so why not" Hanna said with a slight yawn

Eddi simply nodded

"Well, it seems we've reached a decision then, team JNPR are to face off against team SHDE" Shayne said with solidarity in his voice

"Very well, the rules are as follows: the matches are single competitions the victor claims a point for their team, in the case of a draw the leaders of the teams face off to determine a winner. Team SHDE has first choice on matchup, good luck." Goodwitch announced

The teams separated to discuss strategy.

"We have first choice, Shayne it's your call" Dundra said barely looking up from checking his gear for damage;

"If all goes to plan, then we should have no problems"

"Shayne, people rarely stick to plans they know nothing about, what makes you so sure that they'll follow yours?"

"Simple they have Pyrrha, she is a good strategist, and I have no doubt in my mind that she will be advising Jaune's judgement calls, and my plan is the most logical as it's the closest match between the teams"

His team sat in silence trying to work out what he just said.

"So what's your plan?" Hanna asked

"Well Hanna, if you are desperate to know, Dundra takes on Jaune, being a similar fighting style should lead to a close match, you are to take on Nora, as pitting her against Eddi would be a one-sided match in their favour, instead she will go against Ren giving her the best possible chance, leaving me with the strategist and championship winning Pyrrha."

"That seems sensible, but how do we know that Jaune is going to do as Pyrrha tells him" Eddi asked

"I never said he would definitely follow that pattern, but those matches, yes, I think he will take her advice"

With that, both teams were ready, Dundra and Jaune stepped up onto the stage, Dundra was at a definite disadvantage due to his earlier match with Shayne, his Aura had dropped to at least half so he had to fight defensively from the very beginning.

Jaune advanced, his guard firm and his sword waiting, Dundra met him in the middle and their swords clashed repeatedly with the occasional block from a shield, Dundra knew he had to try and break this pattern as he would eventually tire and lose, after his next shield bock, he stepped inside Jaune's guard and sent him sliding back with a strong shove. Dundra switched to his axe having sheathed his sword and shouldered his shield, he held it firmly memories returning to him, when Jaune attacked him, Dundra couldn't see through the tears building up in his eyes, he was thrown clear off the stage.

"Point to team JNPR" Goodwitch called

Dundra picked himself up and made his way back to his team, he looked upset and annoyed at something, so Shayne took him to one side;

"Are you OK, you faltered" Shayne could see in his hunched posture and furrowed brow that he wasn't happy;

"I'm fine, I'll tell you later"

JNPR had the next choice of who fought; the next pair was Eddi and Ren_. 'This is going to be an interesting match'_ Shayne thought to himself. As they took to the stage Eddi certainly had more equipment at her disposal, but Ren was an expert in several styles of unarmed combat, couple that with his weapon; Stormflower, a pair of automatic pistols with large blades attached to the front of each.

The match began with Eddi putting him on the back foot by firing in his direction, thus keeping him from coming on the offensive, but that didn't stop him from trying, mid dodge he fired in Eddi's general location forcing her to stop to evade his volley. Lie Ren came at her quickly preventing her from using anymore of her guns; the pair had similar melee styles, him with his blade-guns and her, with her long knives. They stayed at close quarters neither willing to give in or retreat, eventually Eddi did force him back by getting hold of his arm mid strike and kicking him in the gut, he stumbled backwards and Eddi pounced on him, forcing him to the ground. He quickly forced her off and got back to his feet, 'the only way I'm winning is if I disarm him, even then I have to worry about his unarmed skills' she thought moving to engage him once more. Her plan was to force him to try and disarm her, then counter disarm him as if she was disarmed of her knives she had a variety of firearms to fall back on. The plan went off without a hitch, he disarmed her, only to be disarmed himself in the process, she tossed him over her hip to the ground. When he opened his eyes he was staring down the barrel of one of her various pistols.

"Point to team SHDE" Goodwitch announced

As she made her way back to her team, she made eye contact with Shayne, he nodded once and she nodded back, they wasted no words on congratulation as she didn't require them, she did what had to be done and no more.

"Ok Hanna you're up next, are you ready? Nora is completely unpredictable and you're still not fully recovered after the other night" she had been holding onto his arm for the entirety of the previous matches.

"Of course I'm ready, why wouldn't I be ready?" Hanna said nervously

The two girls made their way up to the stage, Nora grinning like a madman. The match began as expected, with Hanna taking the initiative and attacking quickly trying to wear Nora down before she could react. Hanna eventually had to stop to breathe and it cost her, as Nora came at her swinging wildly, Magnhild a blur. Hanna had to stay low and be light on her feet, to avoid the large warhammer. While dodging to get behind Nora, Hanna locked eyes with Shayne and was caught by the warhammer across her head, luckily her aura prevented her from taking too much damage from it, but she got enough to become disorientated, she lost her footing and fell to the floor.

Shayne looked up at the wrong moment, he caught Hanna's eye and she took a hit from Nora and fell to the ground, 'Shit, this isn't going to be pretty'. Hanna regained enough of her senses to evade a heavy downward strike, but barely. She was starting to lose consciousness but still managed to escape the steel whirlwind that was Nora. Hanna had no choice but to surrender, else pass out.

"Point to team JNPR by default, Miss Wraithblade is unable to continue"

Shayne and Dundra hopped up onto the stage to help Hanna down, once they had got her back to the team bench at their side of the stage, Shayne had to talk to her;

"Hanna what happened out there? We locked eyes and you took a hit that shouldn't have caused you to lose" he said with obvious agitation

"I-I don't know, but when I looked at you I couldn't feel anything, all I wanted to do is lay down and go to sleep"

"*sigh*, Hanna this has got to stop, you can't keep falling apart over the sight of me, or this team is going to have to disband just so you can get the career you want…"

He was cut short by Dundra;

"Shayne, your match is going to start; you'd better get up there"

Shayne turned and took the stairs two at a time and took his position, both his katanas drawn, glinting under the spotlight. Pyrrha stepped up with Miló and Akoúo drawn and ready. A silence descended upon the entire audience Shayne and Pyrrha locked eyes, Shayne moved first, advancing in a rapid serpentine motion, he struck with both blades simultaneously from either side, Pyrrha deftly blocked one with her shield and parried the other, forcing Shayne to step back, he was probing her defences, looking for the one weakness that would lead to her downfall. Pyrrha made her attack with several well-placed strikes that would force a less experienced fighter off balance and leave them open for attack, Shayne took them in his stride and came straight back at her with a series of slashes, she kept his pace, once he finished they both regained their composure, the match was about to begin.

Shayne made the first move, he feigned a left hand strike but came from below to force her to dodge backwards he followed through her guard, shoulder barging her even closer to the edge of the stage, his barge had been too strong, as it gave Pyrrha the chance to switch Miló into its carbine form, she fired in rapid succession but Shayne kept advancing cutting the bullets in half as he went, she had to force him to stop his advance, so she transformed Miló once more into its Pilum mode, and threw it at Shayne. He hadn't expected Pyrrha to use her weapon this way, so it caught him off guard; he had to dodge to the side to avoid it. Pyrrha took this opportunity to use her semblance and ran at Shayne pulling her weapon back to her; she hit him at full sprint with Akoúo and transformed Miló back into Xiphos form, and started her onslaught, from anywhere but Shayne's perspective she became a whirlwind of red and bronze steel forcing Shayne to block or parry almost every strike.

All Shayne saw was Pyrrha doing the sensible thing by keeping him from attacking, though her method of doing so would tire her faster than it would him, unfortunately he hadn't been paying attention to the few strikes that did manage to get past him, she had effectively ruined his jacket and vest by slicing them to ribbons. When she stopped, she stepped back, the ruined clothes fell from his shoulders, leaving his upper body bare and glistening with sweat, and Shayne took the hypnotic look in Pyrrha's eyes and used it against her. She had been paying too close attention to his muscular frame to notice him advancing on her, so when she had been knocked to her floor, it came as a total shock. Her weapon was out of reach but instead of retrieving it using her semblance, she just laid there and looked up, Shayne was standing over her the tip of his blade against her throat, breathing heavily.

"Point to team SHDE"

Shayne helped her up, and headed back to his team. When he arrived Dundra handed him his spare clothes, Shayne had expected this eventuality so he'd sent Eddi to grab his spare set. As he was securing it Miss Goodwitch came onto the stage;

"It appears we have a tie, so would the leaders of the respective teams retake the stage"

Shayne and Jaune reached the centre of the stage at the same time;

"Well Jaune, we could either call this a tie, or we could have one last duel, just me and you, to decide a winner. What do you say?"

"Alright" he said still slightly out of breath from his match, "Let's do this"

Shayne smiled, his teeth showing so Jaune could see his canines, and moved back to his team to throw his jacket to Eddi and say;

"We're going ahead with the tie breaker match" he said making sure his gauntlets were secured properly;

"Shayne do you think that's a good idea, you'll probably just humiliate him"

"Don't you think I've considered that Dundra, were both low on Aura so the match won't last long anyway, Pyrrha put me through my paces as you did with him"

"Shayne, just don't beat him too badly, he's been looking down since you beat Pyrrha" Hanna said, she had been watching their bench for a while it seems

"I won't beat him too badly, but I'm going to give him a run for his money" he said making his way up the steps

Shayne stood ready his tomahawk and knife ready as Jaune climbed the steps to the stage, a look of determination on his face. Team RWBY had entered the hall and were having an argument who to support, Blake and Weiss wanted to back Shayne, Weiss argued that Shayne was clearly stronger and was the favourite to win, Blake had her own motives that she didn't mention, whereas Ruby and Yang wanted to support Jaune. The match began. Jaune eyed Shayne warily like a cat watching a wild dog, waiting for his move, Shayne didn't move from his ready position until Jaune made his move out of desperation, he rushed Shayne, who made it look as though Jaune had put him on the defensive, but was in total control.

Shayne parried a left hand slash and kicked Jaune's shield, and he slid across the stage. Shayne beckoned for Jaune to resume his assault, he came slower this time more wary than before, once he was within lunging distance, Shayne was instantly within Jaune's guard pulling his shield away with his tomahawk and Jaune parried the knife blade just in time. Along with the parry Jaune doubled back, and immediately followed up with a lunge, Shayne side-stepped it and tripped him, Jaune answered with a turning back slash, Shayne did a back hand spring to avoid it, though he didn't completely evade it as it left a large gash in his vest, where the stab proofing had been split.

Shayne was annoyed that he would have to get both sets replaced, but he was more interested that Jaune was putting up such a good fight, he made his way cautiously to the stairs and motioned to Dundra;

"Go tell Pyrrha to let Jaune fight his own battles" he said trying not to lose sight of Jaune

Dundra did as he was asked and the faint glow around Jaune's weaponry faded, _'now we'll see how good you really are' _Shayne thought to himself as he readied his tomahawk.

He started forward and threw his tomahawk and sprinted after it, it hit Jaune's shield a single second before Shayne did, sending Jaune to the floor. Jaune got up slightly dazed but came straight back at Shayne swinging with almost deadly precision, Shayne dodged all of his attacks, and with a leg sweep sent him to the floor once more, before drawing his right katana, _'this isn't going to last much longer'_ Dundra thought having returned to his seat. Jaune got to his feet even more dazed than before and went at Shayne with everything he had_, 'you've got to admire his tenacity'_ Shayne thought parrying his attacks, before disarming Jaune, leaving him with a shield and a sword to his throat.

"Overall victory to team SHDE"

That concluded the session, the audience filed out to whatever they had planned for that evening. As Shayne was packing away his ruined combat gear and changed into his identical casual wear, he was made aware of the group of girls waiting in the shadows near the door by Eddi;

"Shayne, it seems you have a fan club forming at the door" she said picking up her weapon case containing her guns

Shayne glanced over and he saw them trying not to be noticed, they weren't very good at it.

"Dundra can you see another exit?"

"Not from here I'm afraid"

"*sigh* Can you try and distract them then"

"I'll do my best, but no promises"

He made his way over to the group which had grown in the last minute, and was doing his best to distract them but their attention was solely on Shayne. Eddi and Hanna left Shayne to head back to the dorm, Dundra at this point was trying to hold back the crowd, and Shayne saw he was struggling, so he sent him a message;

'Let them go, just be ready with the door'

Dundra stepped aside letting the group run at Shayne, who ran straight at them and sailed over their heads and ran through the open door. He ducked into the first door he found, which just happened to be the Gym, he was waiting for the crowd to pass when he became aware that someone was using the heavy bag, it was Yang. He sent another message to Dundra;

'Got held up, get my stuff and take it back to the dorm'

He stood up and wandered over to where Yang was pummelling the bag;

"It's a bit late for a workout don't you think"

"Well some of us didn't get to fight today, unlike you" Shayne could hear the mob of people approaching

"One sec" he said ducking out of sight from the door

A girl stuck her head in;

"Hey have you seen a guy about 6ft 3, Hazel eyes, long coat and wolf ears anywhere" Shayne shook his head pleadingly

"No, I haven't, why don't you try somewhere else"

The girl left to re-join the crowd searching for Shayne.

"Thanks for that do you know another way back to the dorms"

"No, but I could give you a head start, if you'll do something for me"

"*sigh* What's that then?" he said, his head dropping

"Nothing right now, I just want to have a favour from you, in case I need it later"

"That seems fair, ok, you have yourself a deal" he said moving towards the door letting her go first

She went to a fork in the corridor and shouted to the gang of girls;

"Hey! He went that way towards the library!"

Once they passed by Shayne sprinted to the dorms, only stopping once he got back. Dundra looked up as he walked in;

"Took your time, what kept you?"

"I had to hide; the group that waited in the auditorium was only a portion of the girls who were following me. Yang helped me out"

Shayne sat down on the makeshift sofa and put his head in his hands, Eddi brought him a coffee. Hanna was at the library studying, Dundra told him. He felt slightly guilty as Yang had sent the gang of girls there looking for him.

"Hanna's not going to like all the attention you've been getting you know"

"Yeah, but there's not a lot I can do about it though is there. The only ways I can stop this is by turning gay, or getting a girlfriend. If I do the latter whoever that is will get jealous looks and possibly lose her friends, I can't do that to anyone, not again"

"Whoa, hang on a sec, what do you mean 'not again'?"

Shayne had to tell them now, but he knew it would be hard.

"Well this was about three years ago…."


	9. Chapter 9

"I was sixteen, I had just begun to learn how to control my powers, and a new family were moving into town, she hadn't seen my powers and wasn't scared of me when I went to greet her."

_'"Hi I'm Shayne, do you need a hand with that?"_

_"No, thank you, I'm fine"_

_She was trying to get a box into her house at the time, he ran and caught it before she dropped it and set it down on the ground._

_"Thanks, I'm Lina" she was just a few inches shorter than him at the time, her eyes a sapphire blue and her blood red hair hung in waves, her fox ears poked out from beneath it. She had olive skin, and her face showed no blemishes or freckles, in Shayne's eyes, she was perfect._

_Shayne picked up the box and followed her inside, she didn't notice the looks that others gave Shayne, he just ignored them. The afternoon passed swiftly as he helped her and her family move in, her father tried telling Shayne to ease off the heavy lifting due to the bandages; Shayne took his advice until he walked away. When her mother brought drinks for them, he continued to heft boxes and furniture inside while the others stopped to drink;_

_"Shayne you know you can stop to rest, why don't you take off that jacket isn't it hot" he listened to Lina and removed his jacket, leaving him with just his shirt; his arms were clearly visible, except the one hidden by bandages._

_"Well aren't you defined, young sir" her mother said, she was a cougar Faunus, meaning she had a mean streak a mile wide, but was still a caring parent. Lina's father saw his wife ogling Shayne's body;_

_*Ahem* her father coughed "Shouldn't we be getting back to work"_

_Shayne followed this sound advice and continued to take things inside. It took most of the afternoon to get everything brought in; when it was done Shayne was introduced to Lina's younger brother;_

_"What's wrong with his arm mommy?"_

_"Nothing is wrong just an old injury" he said quietly addressing all of them, he turned to the three year old;_

_"Would you like to see something cool?"_

_The young Faunus looked to his mother, his eyes hopeful._

_"As long as it's safe" she said with clear concern_

_"Now what's your name, little one" he looked him in the eyes as he spoke_

_"Jeffro!" he said excitedly_

_Shayne turned his head to Lina's mother who mouthed 'Jethro'; he had a slight lisp it seemed._

_"Well Jethro, hand me any toy of yours, it doesn't matter what it is" he scurried off under the stairs and brought out a single dice and placed in the palm of Shayne's hand._

_"Now watch closely" almost imperceptibly the small cube began to hover above his hand, it wasn't until Shayne got up to put his glass on the table that anyone noticed the cube was floating a few feet off the ground._

_Jethro's eyes were wide in wonderment;_

_"Mommy look, it's floating"_

_"No, Jethro don't touch it…"_

_Her warning came too late as he touched it with his finger and it began rotating slowly, Shayne grinned at the child's bewilderment, he returned to where he had been sat and put his palm under the cube and it dropped into his hand._

_"Here, why don't you have a go?" he said handing back the cube to the child who took it gleefully and ran off._

_The rest of the night passed all too swiftly for Shayne, he was being told stories about her father's journeys to the cities to trade furs and other supplies. At around 11 Shayne received a message from his uncle asking where he was._

_"I'm afraid I have to go, my uncle is worried about me" he said courteously and heading to the door._

_"I'll show him out" Lina said jumping out of her seat_

_She met him at the door and stepped outside._

_"Well Shayne, it's been fun, maybe I'll see you around sometime"_

_"I'd like that" as he turned to leave she said;_

_"Hey, you forgot your jacket"_

_He turned to see it slung over her shoulder, he sauntered over and took it from her, as he did so she grabbed hold of his face and kissed him. When they separated she gave him her number with a wink and returned inside. As he left he threw on his jacket. He was making his way up the hill when they appeared from the shadows at the treeline;_

_"Well wasn't that touching, look everybody the freak's got himself a girlfriend"_

_Shayne turned and looked him in the face;_

_"What do you want Frank"_

_"What I want, is to see you suffer for what you did"_

_Shayne was aware that he was being surrounded, Frank wasn't a Faunus but his family had moved here for the weather, his entire family wasn't particularly fond of the Faunus as a race, and Frank had to scare people into being friends with him. Shayne had never been scared of Frank, he never would be._

_Fortunately for Frank, Shayne's uncle chose this moment to come looking for him;_

_"Hey what's going on down there, Frank get home now your parents are worried sick, Shayne, come on its late, and all the rest of you go home as well" Shayne's uncle was a well-respected business man, he owned the local forge, he could make just about anything and get hold of everything else that he couldn't make._

_When they got back to the house, Shayne got himself a drink of water and sat down at the table opposite his uncle._

_"Well, where were you all day?" his uncle said in hushed tones, as his grandfather was asleep_

_"I was just down the mountain helping that new family move in…" he said before his uncle raised his hand to stop him;_

_"That's all I needed to know about where and what, you know what my next question is going to be. Do…they…know?" his uncle said_

_"No, they don't know, when they asked about the bandages, I told them it was an old injury, I used my powers to entertain a young child, I only used enough to make a dice float in place and that's all, I swear"_

_His uncle sighed and said;_

_"And what of their daughter, she is around your age is she not"_

_"Yes, I got her number and we're friends, that's all" he said not daring to look in his uncles eyes_

_His uncle sat back in his chair, he knew something wasn't right but for once he let it slide;_

_"So what did you talk about?"_

_Shayne looked up puzzled;_

_"You must have talked about something boy, they had to have asked questions, so what did you tell them?" his uncle said smiling_

_Their conversation went on into the early hours of the morning; Shayne told his uncle all of the stories he had been told until it was almost time for school. Shayne went to get dressed and his uncle went to check on Shayne's grandfather._

_Several hours later it was time for lunch, he hadn't seen Lina all day, she must have been put in a separate class to him. As he sat at his usual table he kept an eye out for her, she came in accompanied by a couple of other girls, she said goodbye and went and sat opposite Shayne;_

_"Hey Shayne, how has your day been?" she said ignoring the disgusted looks she was getting;_

_"It's been fine Lina, thanks for asking" he caught Frank's eye from across the hall and they shared a glare_

_"I've been hearing stories about you all day, most call you a freak, though some couldn't care less, all I want to know is if any of it true" she said carefully_

_"To tell you that, I'd have to hear what has been said about me" he said setting aside his food_

_She told him exactly who had told her what and asked the question again, he sat with his thoughts on the subject for a while before saying;_

_"Well I could tell you or I could show you" she looked puzzled at this, so he unwrapped part of his arm revealing his tattoos, "Watch Frank" he said quietly_

_She did and she noticed Shayne's face had become one of deep concentration, he flicked his wrist and Frank flew across the room, all heads immediately turned to Shayne, who had begun to wrap his arm again. Frank got up furious at Shayne and began striding towards him. Shayne stood, as did Lina and said;_

_"This is the part where I usually run" and took off at a sprint down the hall with Lina at his heels._

_They ran until they reached the forest. Shayne had always felt safest in the forest, a place where most people were frightened. Lina seemed strangely calm. They walked until they found a secluded clearing that Shayne had come to several times recently. It was here when he spoke again;_

_"I'm afraid I may have just ruined your chances at having a normal school life here" he said guiltily, "any friends that you had made will now officially no longer want to know you"_

_"The only friend I have made was you, so no big loss there, those girls had just struck up conversation in class and pulled me into it" she took hold of his hands and looked into his eyes;_

_"So that's how you did it then"_

_"Did what?"_

_"Made the dice float, when you left last night me, my dad and my mom stayed up arguing on how you did it, can I see all of your tattoos?"_

_"Um, I'm not sure that's a good idea, it usually invites chaos into my life"_

_"Please?" Her eyes turned soft and he caved, removing his bandages completely_

_She looked at his arm closely and examined every part until she reached the shoulder and locked eyes with him once more, Shayne knew he loved her but couldn't think of a way to express himself._

_Suddenly a large Ursa barged its way into the clearing, Lina screamed and shouted at Shayne to run, he stood his ground and removed a knife from his boot, it was a standard hunting knife with his name engraved onto the blade. He rushed the Ursa and as it swung, he slid on his knees under its paw and leapt up, stabbing it straight in the throat. He let go of the knife and hurried back to Lina and embraced her;_

_"I would never let anything hurt you Lina" he said quietly into her ear, "I love you"_

_"I love you too" She looked him in the eye and they shared a kiss._

_The next few weeks were the best of his life, he spent most nights at Lina's house with her family, at the weekends they stayed at his house with his grandfather, who got on startlingly well with Lina, he said she looked a lot like Shayne's grandmother. The two were nearly inseparable, only school kept them apart, though they were together as often as possible._

_Until Shayne received a call from her father on the one night they had decided to spend with their families._

_"Shayne what's wrong?" His uncle asked as Shayne strapped on his twin swords_

_"Lina's dad just called, he asked me if Lina was here, I told him she wasn't, when I asked why he'd called, he wouldn't tell me"_

_"So you're going to go find out what's going on, do you want some help"_

_"No you stay here" Shayne looked at his grandfather, "Someone needs to make sure he's okay"_

_"Okay, call me if there's any trouble"_

_With that Shayne left and took a running jump, the road wound its way up the mountain making it easy for him to descend rapidly, he landed in a roll, and began walking he made it to the road where Lina lived in minutes. He knocked on Lina's door and her father answered it;_

_"Good you're here, Lina never came home and she's not answering her Scroll, we thought she was with you, do you know where she could be"_

_Shayne considered what he had just been told and said;_

_"I think I know where she might be, she mentioned something about having made some new friends and was going to a party, she did invite me to it but I knew that I wouldn't be welcome" he checked his Scroll for the address and made his way to the door;_

_"I'm coming with you, I trust you, but she is my daughter and I'm worried about her"_

_"No offence to you, but it's that fact that will make you make bad decisions, I think I should do this alone, I'll bring her back, I promise" Shayne rested a hand on his shoulder._

_He sat down with his wife and promised to wait for their return._

_Shayne left knowing full well what was going to happen; the party was at Frank's house. He was going to make him pay if anything had happened to her._

_When he arrived he could hear no music but he could definitely hear laughter, but not the fun kind, the evil, malicious kind. It was coming from the backyard, he hopped the fence and followed the wall around to find a group of people standing in a circle around something, he could hear crying._

_"Step away, now" he said loudly with malice in his voice_

_The crowd parted and he saw Lina in the dirt, her clothes torn and covered in mud._

_"Well isn't this a surprise, we were only expecting one animal" Frank said moving over to where Shayne was. Shayne drew his sword and held it at arm's length, Frank stopped when he saw the weapon. Shayne began walking forward making Frank back up and move aside, the crowd also stepped away from Lina. When he got to her he helped her up and they made their way to the gate, as they got there Frank piped up again;_

_"There goes the pair of freaks, off to the forest again where they belong" he said laughing, the crowd laughed nervously._

_Shayne leant her against the wall and strode back to where Frank was, he had his back to Shayne, when he saw the fear in the crowd's eyes he turned to see Shayne bearing down on him. Shayne grabbed him by the shirt and manhandled him to a wall, his sword to Frank's throat;_

_"I'm only going to say this once, so listen good, you leave me and Lina the fuck alone, or I'm going to come back and kick your sorry ass back to where you came from" he took his blade from his throat, "Everyone gets one" he said as he walked away. He picked Lina up in his arms and pulled the gate off its hinges and carried her all the way back to her house._

_He knocked on the door and Lina's father answered it once again. He ushered them inside and went to get his wife. Shayne sat her down on the sofa and she rested her head against him, tears running down her face. He explained what had happened and had to physically stop her father from going and tearing Frank a new one. Her mother helped her up the stairs to get her cleaned up._

_"Shayne I can't thank you enough for what you did tonight, if there's any way I can repay you, let me know" after a short while Shayne said;_

_"Actually there is something you could help me with, my grandfather has started to have some trouble walking, my uncle keeps saying he will build him a wheelchair but never gets round to it, I was wondering on your next trip to the mainland could you bring him back one, I'll pay for the shipping"_

_"Of course Shayne, anything after tonight, and don't worry about the shipping, it's my gift"_

_With that Lina came down the stairs, she walked over and embraced both of them, she kissed her father on the cheek and dragged Shayne up the stairs, her father trusted Shayne enough to not have to warn him about any funny business. When they reached her room she locked the door and sat down next to Shayne._

_"Shayne, I don't know how to thank you for tonight…except for this" she turned and grabbed his head kissing him while at the same time lying down with him.'_

Hanna chose this point to walk in.

"Shayne, what the fuck was that about!" she said looking flustered

Dundra, Eddi and Shayne all shared a look.


	10. Chapter 10

"We'll continue this later" Shayne said to Dundra, standing and going over to Hanna, still fuming

"Hanna, what's wrong"

"What's wrong… what's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong, what's wrong is that a crowd of girls tore through the library looking for you, and ruined my essay, I have to do it all over again"

Shayne couldn't help but feel guilty

"I'll help you with it to make up for that"

"Oh, you'll help alright" she said huffing at him

"Your hair is a mess, but don't worry about it now, sit down with a coffee and Dundra will fill you in"

Shayne looked at Dundra; Dundra knew to leave the last bit out of her catch-up.

"Well, as I was saying before you came in" he said looking at Hanna;

_'The morning after was a Saturday, so he woke up later than usual, to the smell of coffee and bacon. Shayne had slept and 'He' hadn't come, Shayne was relieved, he got up and dressed and went down stairs, Lina and her dad were sat at the table, she smiled at him as he walked in, so did her father, which made him slightly uncomfortable._

_"So Shayne, sleep well?" he said with a knowing look, he didn't mind, his daughter was old enough and he approved of Shayne._

_"Yes I did thank you" he said not turning from the coffee machine_

_Lina's father chuckled quietly, Lina walked out her face bright red, 'Ah shit, he knows then' Shayne thought to himself as he watched her head upstairs;_

_"Well go on, say it, I know you want to" he said sitting opposite Lina's father_

_He chuckled once again and said;_

_"Did you enjoy yourself at least?"_

_Shayne couldn't help but smile;_

_"Yes sir, I did, I hope we didn't disturb you"_

_"Oh, you didn't disturb me but my wife says she could hear you two quite clearly"_

_Shayne thanked him for the coffee and went back upstairs._

_He stepped inside Lina's room and she was lounging on her bed admiring his katana,_

_"I never said this before but, nice sword" she said grinning cheekily_

_He slowly made his way over to her and took his blade from her and sheathed it._

_"It just came to me that I've never seen your weapon, Lina? Why is that?"_

_She pouted slightly, "What, no more innuendo?" Shayne raised an eyebrow and gave her a serious look;_

_"Your no fun" she said pouting and making her way over to her dresser, she opened a small jewellery box and took out some rings._

_She sat down next to Shayne, putting two of them on her thumb and forefinger, she handed the rest to Shayne who took a closer look; they were simple gold rings with dust crystals set into them, the crystals themselves were different on each ring with each having a twin for the other hand._

_She struck the one on her forefinger with the one on her thumb and a small fireball appeared in her hand;_

_"The ring on my thumb has an Energy Dust crystal set into it, where the one on my forefinger is set with a Burn crystal" she explained whilst manipulating the fireball expertly._

_After watching the flame for a while Shayne got up off the bed and started strapping his weapons onto his back._

_"Where are you going?" she asked stepping in front of him, blocking his exit_

_"I promised my grandfather I would clean the house today, I don't want to burden you with doing housework that's not yours to do"_

_"No I'm going to help, I insist" she got dressed without worrying about Shayne watching her, 'It's liberating having a boyfriend, it's not as if he hasn't seen it before', she thought to herself remembering the previous night._

_They went downstairs and she told her parents she was going to be spending the day with Shayne at his house, Shayne promised to make sure she got home safely._

_The day passed swiftly, once the housework had been done, Shayne's uncle asked him to go into the market and pick up some things that they were short of. They obliged and went into town; they had almost got everything his uncle needed apart from some nails and some pork._

_They decided to split-up to get the last two items faster, Shayne went to the hardware store while Lina went to the butchers; they had agreed to meet by the fountain. Shayne had been waiting for a little while when he saw Frank wander into the square. He saw Shayne and made his way over._

_"Well, well, if it isn't the freak, where's your little girlfriend today, at home crying" with that Lina came out of the butchers, she had decided to bring her Dust rings just in case of emergency, she was twitching slightly, ready to hurl a fireball at the back of Frank's head._

_"What do you want Frank, I thought I told you to leave me and Lina alone" Shayne said standing up to look him in the eye_

_Shayne looked over Frank's shoulder to her, and gave her a stern look, she knew to head back to his house and wait for him but ignored him and walked up behind Frank, who had grabbed Shayne by the jacket and was grinning like a madman._

_"What I want is for you to go die in a hole for embarrassing me last night"_

_"After what you did last night I felt like tearing your throat out but I didn't, you know why?" Frank shook his head, "I didn't because even asshole bullies get one chance, by coming here and harassing me, you've just made me even madder"_

_Lina chose this point to interject;_

_"Shayne let it go, c'mon we had better get back, and this meat won't last long in this sun"_

_"Yeah, you two had better run" Frank called after them, the bravado in his voice annoyed Shayne all the more._

_Shayne had taken just about all he could he shook his arm free and stormed across the town square and lifted him by his shirt._

_"Listen here, the only reason I'm not going to beat you to death is that there's too many people here, so instead I'm just going give you a warning"_

_Shayne dropped him and he tried to run, so he grabbed the back of Frank's shirt, when Frank turned, Shayne hit him across the jaw sending him to the floor dazed; Frank was thrown into the fountain, Shayne got some rope and tied him there before leaving._

_On the way back Lina wouldn't even speak to him;_

_"Lina, what's wrong"_

_"Shayne, I told you to leave it and you ignored me"_

_"I'm sorry but he has been harassing me for years and after what he did to you, he just got to me"_

_"It's ok, just promise me next time you'll be the bigger man that I know you are"_

_They arrived at Shayne's house to see his uncle waiting for them;_

_"If I already didn't know, I'd ask what took you so long"_

_Shayne handed his uncle what he had asked for and his uncle took him aside;_

_"Shayne if you want, you two can have my bed tonight, I'll sleep on the couch, I've already changed the sheets"_

_"Uncle, that's very nice of you, but she's going to spend the night at her house tonight, I'll see her again tomorrow, I need to meditate to calm my nerves"_

_At 11o'clock Lina got a message from her father asking her to come home, Shayne walked her home they shared a laugh or two and Shayne left her at her door. Four hours later Shayne was woken by a message from an unknown sender on his Scroll, it read;_

_'We have her, if you want her back alive, come alone and unarmed to the peak of the mountain at dawn'_

_He went and woke his uncle in a panic and showed him the message;_

_"Shayne, call Lina's parents to make sure that she is still there, as they could be lying just to get you to go" Shayne called her father and asked him to check on her, when he discovered that she wasn't there, Shayne told him to come up to the house._

_When he arrived he told his uncle and Lina's father his plan;_

_"I'm going to do as they ask, but you two are going to be waiting in the bushes once I have Lina we'll run for cover and I'll leave her in your care, you two will have my swords just in case I need them, I'm going to take my boot knife as added insurance." The two men nodded in acceptance of his plan and set about their preparations._

_Shayne's uncle went to the gun cabinet and got two hunting rifles out and handed one to Lina's father, while Shayne ensured that his weapons were sharp and clean._

_It was an hour before dawn, when they left, Shayne left a couple of minutes ahead of his uncle and Lina's dad. He was waiting at the peak ten minutes before dawn, he watched the sun rise. His uncle was secreted not too far away in the undergrowth as the edge of the forest._

_A van came up the trail as the sun crested the peak, Shayne a silhouette against the morning sky. It pulled to a stop and a group of people climbed out, two of them held Lina, she had clearly tried to fight back and she was bruised and her lip was bleeding. The group were all dressed in identical outfits, a white vest top with a symbol emblazoned on it in red, a Wolf head with claw marks crossing it at a 45 degree angle, the symbol of the White Fang. They were back._

_The leader of the group stepped forward shielding his eyes from the sun and shouted:_

_"Shayne, you have one chance, join us or we kill the girl"_

_"Why should I join you this time over all the other times, you guys have been hounding me for months, ever since the tournament, Now, I'm going to walk over there and take Lina home, if you try to stop me then you will die" he shouted as the rage grew behind his eyes, begging for release._

_He started across the distance towards Lina; she was brought next to their leader who put a gun to Lina's belly. Her father took aim._

_"Hold your horses, there Shayne, if you haven't noticed we're in control here, now if you want her to get out this alive I suggest you stay there and kneel down" 'Big mistake' Shayne thought as he knelt down, he gripped his knife and waited._

_"Now that wasn't so hard was it, restrain him" a pair of guards came and held Shayne down_

_As the restraints were put on Shayne, the leader brought Lina forward, he stood over Shayne he put the gun to his head;_

_"I'm going to ask once more, join us or die"_

_"You think I'm scared of dying? Ha, you must be mistaking me for someone else"_

_Shayne broke the restraints and collided with the leader, who pulled the trigger as Shayne hit him, it tore through Lina's abdomen. The knife stuck in the throat of the leader, Shayne picked up his pistol and shot every last one of the White Fang. His uncle and Lina's father came running from the tree line._

_He dropped to his knees and held Lina in his arms; she held her hand up to his face as she bled out. They didn't bother calling an ambulance. They knew it would take too long to arrive to save her. Shayne just knelt there looking her in the eye and cried as she died. Shayne carried her body down the mountain back to his house where her family had gathered. Shayne laid the body on the table and left the house to go into the forest, he took his swords, before he got very far Lina's father came after him giving him her Dust rings. Shayne continued into the forest until he reached a sheer cliff that dropped onto rocks. He stood at the edge knowing he would never see her again; he was contemplating suicide when he saw a familiar shadow overhead._

_Nemea landed in a nearby clearing; Shayne went and meditated there for several days before coming out of his trance. He spent the next few years becoming cold and oblivious to all but himself, he honed his skills, did odd jobs for those who needed it, never forgetting about Lina.'_

Dundra stood up and moved to where Shayne was now standing, he put a hand on his shoulder;

"It's okay Shayne, were here for you now, there's no need to be so cold and alone anymore"

"You don't get it, in the years that followed her death, I was approached by the white fang several more times" the anger in his voice was clear, "They never stop once they decide they want you"

"I didn't ever have another relationship with anyone because of the fear, I could have one now that I have you guys, but it will never compare to her" he looked down at his hand, the rings Lina's father had given him were on a string, he kept them with him wherever he went. He went to the roof and stayed there all night, crying.

_'Shayne had put Lina on the table and had left for the woods; her father had followed him to give him the rings. She started glowing the deepest blue any of them had ever seen, almost sapphire, like her eyes, she gasped back to consciousness, with no memory of the past few weeks. Her mother thought it best not to tell Shayne and save him the sorrow of knowing she had no idea of who he was. Shayne was never told.'_


	11. Chapter 11

The days turned into weeks without incident. Until the first field trip into the forest of Forever Fall.

"Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside the forest and I am here to make sure you don't die while doing so…"

Shayne was fully aware that Jaune was hanging around with Cardin but decided to keep out of it unless approached directly about it. The teams split up with RWBY and the rest of JNPR going one way, while Jaune went with CRDL the other. Shayne and his team carried on into the forest for some time.

"Shayne, we should do something about Jaune"

"Hanna, I'm staying out of it"

"But Jaune would never side with Cardin on anything, something is really wrong"

"Dundra, me and Hanna will watch for Grimm, can you guys get the samples?"

"Sure Shayne, no problem" Dundra knew that Shayne needed to talk to Hanna so he accepted the lie for her sake;

Hanna and Shayne wandered away from Dundra and Eddi before Shayne spoke again;

"Hanna…I need to talk to you"

"Sure Shayne, what's up?"

"Well it's about you, I know since the 'incident' you have been obsessing over me, now I don't mean to hurt your feelings but after I told you guys about Lina, you should understand that I'm not always going to be there to save you"

Hanna stepped away from Shayne with a look of disbelief and sadness, and ran into the forest crying. She passed Dundra and Eddi, Shayne came walking from the direction Hanna had come from a minute later;

"What was that about?" Eddi asked

"She just needs to vent some feelings, but you should go keep an eye on her Eddi. If we hear screams of pain or explosions then Dundra and I will come running" Eddi nodded and set off after Hanna.

Dundra and Shayne carried on collecting the jars of sap from the trees. They only had to wait a few minutes before they heard an explosion;

"Well, it seems she's found something to vent on" Shayne said looking to Dundra who was packing the samples away

The pair set off at a sprint, using Shayne's innate sense of direction and superior hearing to locate the source of the explosion in seconds. They arrived at a clearing and crept up behind Eddi, who being completely aware of her surroundings, wasn't surprised at their presence;

"Hey Ed, how's she doing" Dundra asked as they drew level with her

She didn't need to answer, it was a courtesy question. She was fending off two Ursa; her aura was pulsing violently with every Dust Kunai she threw. She was relentless in her assault, she was focusing on one as the other escaped, and Shayne noticed it was larger than most Ursa, with a lot more armour.

She killed the Ursa that she had prevented from escaping her onslaught and sat down her back against the corpse of the bear, the three onlookers started walking towards Hanna, Dundra broke away to ensure the beast was dead, while Eddi checked to see if the other one was still around.

Shayne crouched down in front of Hanna;

"You okay?" He said quietly

She sniffed, wiped her eyes, and smiled;

"Yeah, I'm fine"

"Good, but we have to get back soon"

Shayne helped her to her feet

"Before you ask Shayne, yes, I'm over you, so expect me to be more professional from now on"

Dundra and Eddi returned from what they were doing and the four of them were about to set off when Yang, Blake, Nora and Ren came running from the treeline.

"Guys, Jaune and Cardin are under attack by an Ursa" Yang said coming to a stop in front of them

"Nora, Ren go find Goodwitch" Blake said slightly out of breath, Ren nodded and started running again, Nora followed at his heels.

"Did you see the Ursa?" Eddi asked after giving them a moment to catch their breath;

"All we know is that it terrified all of CRDL; Cardin got hit and was unable to escape" Yang said looking impatient.

When Weiss, Ruby and Pyrrha emerged from the treeline, the conversation stopped and attention turned to them;

"Where's Jaune? I thought you guys went to help" Yang asked as they got closer, before they could answer Jaune and Cardin came from the same place they had, Cardin a little way behind Jaune.

When Cardin caught sight of Shayne he sucked in his gut and regained that arrogant look he has, and swaggered past, bumping into Shayne on his way past, Shayne just grinned and looked down as Cardin went to find the rest of his team. The three teams took the long way round to gather up all the samples that had been left behind before heading back to Goodwitch. When they arrived it was 4:30 and she wasn't happy, but she had heard about what had happened from Nora and Ren, who were there with her, and let it slide just that once.

The weeks passed swiftly with the teams attending classes and training together. Jaune had conquered his doubts about himself and was training privately with Pyrrha. One Saturday towards the end of term Team SHDE went into Vale to find the streets buzzing with excitement about the upcoming Vytal festival. After whatever errands needed doing were done, they met up with Team RWBY at a café for coffee.

"So Shayne…" he looked up from his coffee as Weiss spoke to him, "Are you going to take part in the Vytal festival tournament"

Shayne put down his coffee.

"No, Weiss I don't plan on taking part but I will be watching" he said calmly, knowing exactly where this conversation was heading;

"Why not? You're one of the strongest attending Beacon this year, and should be proud to represent Vale." She said in an annoyed tone;

"I have my reasons"

"That's not good enough! now tell me why you won't represent Vale"

Shayne looked Weiss straight in the eye and said;

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, I think we all do"

"Weiss, I think you should drop the subject"

"No, Ruby I won't, not until I get an answer"

Dundra, Eddi and Hanna knew this wasn't going to end well.

"The reason I'm not participating is the last time I fought in a tournament I almost killed someone. I lost control, I couldn't stop myself, and the officials had to restrain me. I left the arena and never fought in a tournament again" he said calmly, the others were silent as they took in the information.

Shayne thanked them for the coffee, left money for his and went to see a man about some Dust crystals. His team headed back to Beacon without him. He returned later with a bag. Blake and Weiss were arguing about something, according to Eddi it had been going all day. They had been keeping out of it using headphones. Blake shouted louder than she had done all day:

"Well maybe we were tired of being pushed around!" the room fell silent and she ran out.

Shayne told the others he was taking a walk, he began tracking Blake by her scent, she had headed to the main courtyard, and he was on his way there when Cardin and his team stepped out of the shadows.

"Well isn't this a surprise, you know Shayne I still owe you payback for the start of the year" Cardin's teammates grabbed his arms and forced him to his knees. Cardin proceeded to pace in thought.

When Cardin made his way over to Shayne, who was still on his knees, he proceeded to beat Shayne until he tired, Cardin broke Shayne's nose, his left eye had swollen shut and he was bleeding from multiple cuts. Cardin stood and Shayne spat blood;

"That all you got, Cardin, I've taken worse beatings from Ursa's" Cardin's team hauled him to his feet, and Cardin resumed his assault. After a few more minutes, Cardin stopped once more and the rest of CRDL dropped him. Shayne stood up and spat blood again;

"You don't get it, do you Cardin" he said trying to catch his breath, "You can beat me half to death, but I'll never stay down. Every Faunus here is afraid of you. So I'm making a stand"

Cardin tackled Shayne to the ground and proceeded to punch him in the face again, _'Big mistake Cardin'_ Shayne thought as he blocked a punch and head-butted Cardin. Cardin scrabbled away and Shayne hopped to his feet.

"C'mon then, you want to fight, lets fight" he said hopping from one foot to the other, wiping a trickle of blood from his brow.

Cardin stood back as his team attacked Shayne all at once, Shayne ducked punches and blocked kicks, all while delivering his own. Once Cardin's team had been dealt with he strode over to Cardin who backed into a wall as Shayne approached.

"Everyone gets one, now get outta my face" Shayne headed towards the main courtyard once more.

He got there and picked up Blake's scent once more, it was joined by an unknown scent, but strangely he recognised it from earlier that day. He followed the scent trails to a rooftop where she was standing looking out over the city. He was on a bridge above the building, so he hopped the barrier and landed in a roll, coming to a stop behind Blake. The monkey almost fell off his perch.

"Whoa…buddy, who the hell are you?" Shayne ignored the question and went and stood next to Blake;

"You okay" she nodded, "Your team are out looking for you, you know" she nodded again

"Were you followed" she asked

"I had some interference from Cardin but no, I wasn't followed" Shayne wandered over to the monkey perched on an air conditioning unit.

"And who, pray tell, are you?" He asked calmly but with a definite seriousness in his face.

"The name's Sun, Sun Wukong" he said extending his hand

"Shayne" he didn't accept the handshake

Shayne sent a message to Dundra;

'Won't be back tonight dealing with something important, I'll pick up my part of tomorrow before I come back'


	12. Chapter 12

Shayne stayed with Blake and Sun all night, when the sun came up they went to a café where Blake finally spoke. Sun had been questioning her all night by this point.

"So you want to know more about me" she said putting her cup down.

Shayne wasn't sitting; he made a point of standing but listened all the same. She told them about her past, about the White Wang and everything else. Blake and Sun made plans to scope out a major Dust delivery as she wanted to know if the White Fang were the ones stealing the Dust from stores.

Shayne declined the invitation to join them; he had a prior engagement to attend. He paid for the coffee on his way out. He went to the workshop to pick up what he had been working on and the other things he needed to get.

It was Hanna's eighteenth birthday today; Eddi was taking her out shopping while Shayne and Dundra sorted things out at the dorm. He had to be careful not to bump into Hanna and Eddi, so as not to spoil the surprise of the present he had made. He made it back to the dorm at around 5 o'clock; he stepped in the door and immediately had to catch Dundra, who had fallen off a ladder trying to hang a banner all by himself.

"Thanks, good timing" Dundra said as Shayne put him down

They proceeded to put the banner up and set about the other preparations. Shayne had picked up the snacks as Dundra had asked him too, Dundra hadn't been to sleep last night; he had been putting the finishing touches on his present and doing something for Shayne. With everything set up the two compared gifts and the workmanship that went into them. Shayne went first;

"I made her a gauntlet that auto adjusts to its wearer, has a bladed chain secreted under the arm guard. It's made of carbonized titanium and hand carved the design and her symbol into the metal" Shayne handed it to Dundra who inspected it thoroughly and nodded his approval

Dundra handed it back and went and got his part of Shayne's gift; a wooden box with the same detailing as the gauntlet and her symbol carved into the lid, inside was a pillow covered in deep purple satin, on which the gauntlet would sit. Shayne put it in and sealed the box.

"How much did it cost to make Shayne?"

"Two thousand Lien"

"Shit Shayne, I mean she's going to love it, but she won't want to use it if she finds that out"

"Well what about your gift"

"I made her a copy of her symbol out of Mahogany wood and I'm going to mount it on her bed for her"

"And how much did that cost, you know, being made of Ebony wood"

"That's not the point" Shayne gave him a stern look, "about fifteen hundred" he said with a sigh

"Fifteen hundred for wood, damn that's expensive, but we just won't tell her what we spent, now will we"

Dundra nodded his approval and they wrapped the two items. Not five minutes later Hanna walked through the door, followed closely by Eddi, Shayne and Dundra both stood and hugged her in turn. Shayne sent Jaune a message and JNPR arrived shortly after.

About an hour into the celebrations Hanna wanted to open her gifts, she opened Dundra's and Shayne's last. She opened Dundra's, took one look at it and went and sat next to him, she gave him a long hug and a kiss on the cheek;

"Thank you Dundra it's beautiful" he chuckled nervously, she noticed and followed up with, "How much did it cost" her eyes narrowing.

"It's not the price, but the thought that counts" Pyrrha said diffusing the situation_, 'thank you Pyrrha'_ Dundra thought to himself.

"I'll attach it to your bed later" Dundra said as Hanna moved on to Shayne's gift;

She picked it up, it was the single heaviest present she had gotten, and she unwrapped it to discover a beautifully carved ornate box;

"Dundra did the carving for me, I'm useless at carving wood" Shayne said handing her the key to the lock, she opened it and she covered her mouth with her hands when she saw the gauntlet, "Metal on the other hand, I was taught to carve from a young age by my uncle" he finished with a smile.

She put on the gauntlet and it contracted to fit her perfectly, she also realised it was the box that was the heavy part, as the glove was so light that if she didn't look at it she would have thought it wasn't there.

"If you do a specific motion it will fire a blade on a chain, I'll teach you later" Shayne said catching her arm before she did it accidently.

The festivities ended. Shayne headed to the roof and Hanna followed him, when they reached the roof, she saw he had planned something; there was a table with the decanter and two glasses from Shayne's lock box.

"Happy birthday Hanna" he said pouring them both a drink they went and stood at the edge of the roof and sipped the strong drink, the cool air nipping at their exposed skin.

"Shayne thank you for tonight, I really enjoyed myself" she was getting closer to him she embraced him and was about to kiss him when the docks exploded.

Dundra and Eddi came charging up to where they were;

"Did you guys hear that" Dundra said as he stormed through the door, Shayne noticed his shirt was ruffled and Eddi's hair was slightly messed up, he but showed no sign that he knew.

"We saw it from here" Hanna said

"Shayne you know something, don't you?" Eddi asked him

"Yes Ed I do, Blake is there and we're too far away to do anything about it except wait, her team will have undoubtedly heard it, so will be on their way"

They headed back to the dorm to clean up and settle down; about an hour later team RWBY returned with Blake, Shayne and Hanna went to see her. They knocked on team RWBY's door and Yang answered,

"Oh, Hey Shayne, did we disturb you"

"No, we came by to talk to Blake"

"Sure, oh, by the way happy birthday Hanna"

"Thanks Yang" she said with a smile

Blake stepped out and the three of them took a walk, Blake was still wearing her bow, they walked to the main courtyard and sat down at the foot of the statue.

"So Blake, I'm guessing they know now"

"Yeah they do, but I don't think you do Hanna"

"Oh no, I know, Shayne told me during initiation"

Blake looked at Shayne in disbelief;

"What! She heard our conversation the night before and asked me what I meant when I called you kitty-cat"

"I thought you two were dating or something"

Blake chuckled slightly at her comment;

"We should be getting back, it's getting late"

Hanna and Shayne nodded, although Shayne didn't feel tired. On the way back the effects of Shayne's drink hit Hanna earlier than the first time, it had taken all day for the alcohol to hit last time, at least she didn't throw up. Shayne gave her a piggy back ride back to the dorm, they dropped Blake off on the way;

"Shayne, I have something to tell you" she said clearly quite drunk

"And what's that?" he said

"I love you, I thought I was over you but I'm not"

"Hey c'mon now Hanna, none of that, you know that's the alcohol talking"

"Shayne I want you to take my virginity" she said with a determined look on her face

Shayne stayed silent all the way back to the door dumbfounded, he had to ignore Hanna nibbling on his ear the entire climb.

He put her on her bed and noticed that Dundra and Eddi weren't there, but instead of investigating, he took off his jacket and got a drink of water. He was sitting on the sofa when Hanna walked over to him and straddled him, the thoughts about Dundra and Eddi completely left his mind as Hanna tore his shirt open and ran the tips of her fingers over his torso, she gave him a long passionate kiss.


	13. Chapter 13

She stopped kissing him to remove her top and resumed her kiss once she had; Shayne forced her off him and stood up.

"Hanna we can't do this!" he said almost shouting the words

"Why not, were old enough and both consenting?"

"I just can't okay"

He opened the window and took a running leap out, Hanna screamed and ran to the window, and she watched him fall. The split second before he hit the pavement, the split second she blinked, he opened a portal and was sent flying out of the tree he marked before revealing Nemea to his team. _'Emergency portal, always good to have'_

He landed and slid forward due to his momentum. He went back to the dorm to find her sobbing under the window; Dundra and Eddi were back from wherever they had been. Dundra and Hanna didn't notice that the door was slightly open as Shayne was looking in. Eddi did and made an excuse to step outside.

She stepped outside to see him walking off down the corridor;

"Shayne, where are you going?"

He stopped and turned to face her

"I'm leaving, Hanna isn't over me, this isn't working, I'm going to see Ozpin, and I'm going home"

"Shayne if you leave she'll be devastated, she's bad enough right now. The team will be crippled without you"

"*sigh* Eddi, I know you mean well, but I've made up my mind" with that he set off towards Ozpin's office

He arrived as Ozpin was talking to a new student;

"Aah Mr Oceanstrider, I'd like you to meet our newest student, Miss Lina Honeybloom" Shayne's thoughts took him to earlier that day;

_He was back in town having just picked up Hanna's present; he was heading to the grocery store to pick up the snacks, when he spotted her amongst the crowd in the square, 'this is not the time to hallucinate', he watched her move through the crowd toward…., 'this has to be a hallucination, she moving towards Frank'. He dismissed it as his mind playing tricks on him._

_The second time though, that can't have been a hallucination, he saw her talking to Weiss on campus grounds on his way to the Dorm, out of the corner of his eye, but still. He stopped and looked again, sure enough there she was, chatting to Weiss about something until Frank rounded the corner and put his arm around her, forcing him to make the assumption he was seeing things again. 'If she is here though, what is she doing with him, no, she can't be here I watched her die' he argued with himself until he reached his dorm, he regained his composure and stepped in._

He dropped to his knees; he couldn't believe she was actually here;

_'I must be losing my mind, I watched her die'_ he thought to himself in despair

"Mr Oceanstrider are you alright?" Ozpin asked with genuine concern.

Shayne looked Lina in the face, tears in his eyes;

"I watched you die 3 years ago, how is this possible"

His voice stirred something inside her, some of her memories returned to her, she remembered him from school, and the abuse he received from Frank, running into the forest, the party and the hours after it. She was suddenly a little weak at the knees; she called her relationship with Frank into question. She stumbled over to where he was knelt, and she dropped in a similar fashion. She got to her feet, regained her composure and crouched down once again and placed a hand on his shoulder;

"It's okay Shayne I remember, why wasn't I told?

"Why weren't you told? WHY WASN'T I TOLD!" he shouted

Just then Frank came round the corner with Goodwitch;

"Well Lina and I have been together for two years and I was wondering if…"

He tailed off as he saw Lina with Shayne; Ozpin stopped his rage filled charge with his cane and a stern look.

"You! How are you here" Frank yelled at Shayne

Both Lina and Shayne's heads turned to face him, their eyes brimming with tears but Shayne's also filled with hate;

"You really are a bastard Frank, you bully and torment me while I was home, you convinced the girl I thought was dead to go out with you despite the bullying, now you turn up here, are you trying to make my life a living hell" Shayne stood up and strode towards Frank as he said this until he was staring him down over Ozpin's cane

Ozpin chose this point to interject;

"If I may gentlemen, it seems there is some bad blood between you, now Shayne your grandfather and I are old friends, so out of respect to him I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and ask you, Frank, to go to your dorm"

Frank stepped past Ozpin and stormed off down the hall, Shayne watched him all the way. Lina was undecided with what to do, her memories had come back to her but she had feelings for Frank.

"Miss Honeybloom, you are free to do as you wish, Shayne and I are going to have a chat in my office"

"Wait, Shayne I don't know what to tell you, I still love you but I have feelings for Frank, and I don't want to hurt him, no matter what he did to us in the past"

"Lina, he and a group of others could have beaten you to death if I hadn't come looking for you"

"I know, but because I didn't know that when I fell for him, I don't know what to do"

Ozpin took them back to his office, he had a similar decanter to Shayne's on a side table, filled with the same liquid, he poured two glasses and handed one to Shayne;

"Now, start at the beginning"

Shayne and Lina told him about their history, leaving out certain parts. When they had finished Ozpin looked thoughtful for a while;

"Hmmm, I don't quite know what to tell you, I suggest that once the weekend comes around that you both return to Managerie and confront your families about this, I'll deal with Frank if he comes looking for either of you"

"Professor I was planning on leaving beacon and returning home anyway, but now that I know Lina is alive, I may have to rethink my plans"

"Shayne, you don't have to stay because of me"

"No, I was going to leave because I wasn't over you and someone else wanted me"

"Miss Wraithblade, I presume"

"Nothing gets past you does it, Ozpin"

"No, my boy, it doesn't, I also know about your spats with Mr Winchester" Shayne nodded sedately, "I don't believe you were in the wrong, you just handled the situation badly"

"Oh, Shayne you didn't injure him did you, I thought I told you to be the bigger man"

"What no, I came close several times, but I haven't done anything like that for a long time"

"Oh, he just put him in his place, Mr Winchester continues his bullying despite his warnings however"

"He is just pissed that he hasn't ever got me to submit to him"

"Shayne knowing you as I do, you'll never back down, even in the face of death, just like your grandfather" Shayne looked at Ozpin and smiled

"Now, both of you should get some rest, Shayne, unfortunately Miss Honeybloom is partnered with Frank, by the rules of this school I cannot change that unless Frank does something to get himself expelled"

Shayne was disheartened at this;

"Miss Honeybloom, you could do some reconnaissance and keep us informed on Franks behaviour"

"I already know he is siding with CRDL, he was absorbed by Cardin the moment we arrived, and they're almost inseparable"

Ozpin thanked her for this information and sent them on their way, they went to SHDE's dorm, Shayne was nervous as the approached the door.

"Shayne it'll be okay, I'm here for you" she said hugging his arm

"It's not that, I'm worried about how Hanna will take this"

"Well, to find out we have to go in don't we" she said reaching for the handle, she was just about to turn the handle when the door opened and Eddi stepped out,

"Shayne I'm glad your back, Hanna hasn't been the same since you dove out the window"

He looked to Lina;

"I'll tell you later" she nodded slightly

Eddi turned to face Lina and said to Shayne;

"Who's your friend?"

"Eddi, you remember what I told you" she nodded "Well this is Lina"

Eddi was surprised and it showed on her face. She blinked twice and said;

"Didn't she die?"

"Apparently she woke up on my dining room table with no memory of me; I'm surprised my uncle and grandfather didn't tell me"

"Well, we had better go inside"

Eddi entered the room followed by Shayne; Hanna ran over and leapt into him hugging him tightly;

"Shayne, where did you go…" she tailed off as Lina came after him

"Who's this?"

"Hanna, this is Lina, the girl from my past, the one I thought had died"

Hanna stepped away from Shayne and stood in front of Lina with judging eyes,

"You were dead… you broke his heart…you made him what he is"

"What did I make him?" Lina asked confused

"Shayne, we should probably close the door before this descends into chaos" Dundra was right; Shayne closed the door and sat on Dundra's bed with Lina while the others sat on Hanna's.

Lina spoke first;

"Shayne, what did she mean when she said I made you what you are"

Shayne sighed and looked Hanna in the eye;

"After I thought you had died I became cold and hard, unable to show love, I have been sought after by many in the years since, but I couldn't have a relationship, I was still haunted by you. This year is the first time I ever got close to someone since then"

Hanna clearly didn't like Lina. Shayne decided he had had enough;

"Hanna, I know how much you love me but I'm sorry, I'm still in love with Lina" as Shayne finished Hanna leaped across the space between them tackling Lina off the bed.

Shayne and Eddi separated them while Dundra formed a human wall between them,

"I'll fucking kill you, you bitch" Hanna screeched at her before dropping to the floor in tears.

Both Shayne and Lina went to her and helped her up. The sat down on the bed again with Shayne between them, Hanna sobbed into his chest, while Lina just held his hand;

"There's no way this can work, is there" Lina asked

"No, there isn't, while were getting things out in the open, Eddi and I have been dating for a couple of weeks"

"I know" Shayne said grinning

"How long have you known"

"Round about the time of the explosion at the docks"

"Well, ok then…"

"Anyway enough about you, what are we going to do about Hanna" she had fallen asleep by this point.

"Honestly Shayne I don't know, we could try and find her a boyfriend but there's no guarantee she'll be over you" Eddi said as she locked the door.

"I know, but that's our only choice isn't it"

"This is going to sound a bit odd, but why can't we just accept that Hanna loves you just as much as I do" Lina said looking up from her thoughts

The others looked confused;

"What I mean is, why can't she love Shayne, be his partner and still be okay with him dating me"

"Well because human nature isn't like that, it might be different for Faunus but I don't think she'll ever be okay with it" Dundra said

"Who'll be okay with what" Hanna said waking up

She looked around slightly dazed but okay. She noticed Lina and said;

"What's going on? I'm sorry I attacked you, I was drunk, and I think I still am"

It hit Shayne like a truck, _'That explains it, she's not pissed off, she's drunk'_

"Having that knowledge earlier would have been nice Shayne" Eddi said rolling her eyes

"Well I'll ask again, Hanna are you over me?"

"To tell the truth, no not entirely, but I can deal with the fact that your Girlfriend that you thought was dead, is back, it'll take a while, but I'll get over it. But Shayne what I asked you earlier before you left" Shayne was expecting this, "I still want you to do it"

Lina, Dundra and Eddi were all confused, he looked to Hanna who nodded at his questioning look, he didn't divulge the information to them he just said;

"It's complicated"

"Well it's getting late, we should probably get to bed" Eddi and Dundra got up to change for bed, Hanna went to the bathroom and Shayne walked Lina back to her dorm.

"It was good seeing you again Shayne" she stopped in front of her door

"Yes it was, I'll see you tomorrow" they shared a kiss that lasted about a minute, by chance Frank opened the door to see them.

He tackled Shayne to the floor and Shayne flipped him into the opposite wall, leaping to his feet ready to fight, Frank got up slowly enraged. He swung at Shayne who ducked the punch while pushing Lina inside;

"For your protection" he said as he shut the door

Shayne had to evade another wild swing from Frank he backed away from the door;

"You had to ruin everything didn't you, you freak" Frank spat at him

Cardin and his team rounded the corner and blocked Shayne's escape route, he was in a bad way.

Inside the dorm, Lina went to her dresser and got her gloves and Dust claw, she was about to go help Shayne when a large male stopped her;

"Lina don't, let me go"

"Lance, you don't know him, if he sees you as a threat then you'll probably take a worse beating than Frank" he ignored her pleas

He opened the door, his bulk filling most of it.

Shayne saw the door open behind frank, a large shape filled the space casting a shadow over both him and Frank, _'This day just keeps getting worse'_ Shayne thought. Then the giant took hold of Frank and tossed him over to where Cardin was, Shayne was ready to defend himself as the male stepped out, shortly followed by Lina, who went and whispered to him;

"This is Lance, he won't hurt you, he's a friend but has never liked Frank" this new information helped Shayne relax, he remembered the ten rings and gave them to Lina,

"Your father gave these to me the day I thought you'd died" he said not taking his eyes off Cardin and Frank,

Lance stepped forward;

"I'm only going to say this once; leave or I'll be forced to intervene"

Cardin and his team stood their ground; Frank was clearly not okay with Lance's appearance in the corridor. Shayne used the distraction Lance had caused and rushed Cardin shouldering him into a wall, when Frank protected his new ally, the rest of CRDL went for Lance, Lina went back inside not wanting to see the rest.

Shayne was hitting Cardin in the face when Frank pulled him off, Cardin and Frank attacked him as a cohesive unit forcing him to back up, Lance dealt with the other three easily and was coming up behind Frank when Shayne was stabbed in the gut by Frank, and had his 3rd, 4th and 5th ribs on his left side broken by Cardin, Lance hauled Frank off and went back to the dorm with him. Shayne only had to deal with Cardin, but he was losing blood, when Cardin grabbed his throat choking him, Shayne's eyes began to glow red, Cardin remembered this and let go, he scrabbled backwards into a wall, the red left his eyes as Shayne dropped to the floor, Cardin was about to stomp on his head, when Lance stepped into the corridor, Cardin ran after his teammates. Lina ran to Shayne's side;

"Lance he's injured" Lina shouted

Lance quickly walked over and rested his hand on the wound, he closed his eyes and concentrated allowing the energy to pass into Shayne; he lost concentration as a vision of a Grimm flashed in front of his eyes, he regained his concentration again and continued. After a few minutes the wound had healed and Shayne was inside their dorm. Frank had been tied to a chair; he was still holding the knife, he had been smiling like a madman until Shayne walked in his own knife in hand.

"I told you a long time ago that everyone gets one chance, you've been lucky, you're getting one more" Shayne said before planting the knife into the chair between his legs.

Shayne left, returning to his dorm, when he arrived Dundra had heard the commotion and was waiting outside the door;

"Well I'd ask what took you so long, but not too long ago I saw CRDL run past terrified of something, c'mon let's get you cleaned up and get some rest, it's been a long day"

Shayne for the first time in a long time slept instead of meditated, he dreamt of Lina.


	14. Chapter 14

The next morning the majority of team SHDE awoke to a never before seen spectacle; Shayne was sleeping. The three students shared a look. Dundra went to do a sweep of the grounds while Eddi prowled the internet for any news reports of an unknown Grimm causing chaos in the town. Hanna made coffee. They had to check to be sure Shayne hadn't done anything.

Shayne woke to the smell of coffee; he sat up on the sofa and yawned. It suddenly dawned on him that he had been sleeping; he looked around in a panic. The other members of his team were unusually calm under the circumstances.

He put his head in his hands and wiped his eyes;

"Any news?" he said addressing all three of them

"No damage to the campus" Dundra said with his hands behind his back

"Nothing on the news or social media" Eddi added

"You're in the clear" Hanna finished with a smile handing him a coffee

Shayne sighed with relief and let his head rest on the back of the sofa. After a few moments he opened his eyes and got ready for the days classes.

The morning seemed to drag on and on, but eventually it was time for lunch, unfortunately Shayne had no classes with Lina, so he could only see her at lunch or after classes had finished. Though he had learned her team name; FLLN. Frank ate with CRDL which, after last night, didn't surprise him in the slightest. The remaining members of FLLN; Lina, Lance and Nelwyn ate with team SHDE along with JNPR and RWBY.

Nelwyn interested Shayne, mostly because she and Nora got on so well, but according to Lina she had a twin sister. She wore a combat skirt not dissimilar to that of Weiss or Ruby, but in a hot pink colour. She used a Glaive as her main form of combat, an elegant blade with a decorative back edge; her symbol was etched into the clean steel of the blade. The blade was fireable from the end, leaving a standard Bo staff as a weapon.

Lance was 6ft 1 and had the bulk similar to that of a young Ursa, despite his large frame, he was a gentle soul, only angering if his friends were in direct danger, but not afraid to act if they weren't. He had black plate mail made of the same materials as Hanna's gauntlet, a titanium-carbon blend; the fabric between the plates was a Kevlar and super nylon mixture stitched directly onto the metal, it was extremely durable.

He turned his attention to the conversation happening next to him, between Lina and Yang.

"So Lina, I hear you and Shayne have some history together" Yang said enthusiastically, Shayne looked to Dundra who pointed at Hanna, who proceeded to punch Dundra in the arm, Shayne merely rolled his eyes and returned to the conversation.

"Yes, we do as a matter of fact, we first met a few years ago, on Managerie, I had just moved to the town where Shayne lived…" she caught Shayne's eye at this point, "I'm sorry, would you like to tell it" she said like she was genuinely sorry not sarcastically, as he was used to.

"No, do carry on"

Shayne's attention was caught by Cardin and Frank harassing a group of Faunus in the corner, he nodded to Dundra, who got up at the same time as Shayne,

"I'll be right back, I just have to deal with something" he said kissing Lina before he went

Shayne and Dundra walked over nonchalantly to Frank and Cardin, while trying to keep quiet so as to sneak up behind them. As they approached the table, they could both make out the conversation;

"You girls are lucky were even talking to you, you're just animals, you don't deserve to be here, so were going to give you a choice…" Frank never finished that sentence as Shayne and Dundra clapped them on their shoulders simultaneously,

"Hey guys, just want to let you know these girls are way out of your league" Shayne said winking to the nearest one, she blushed and looked away

"What the hell do you want Shayne, we were just having a chat" Frank said through his teeth

"Oh, I heard your little chat" he answered he said wiggling his ears slightly, "I don't think these girls were enjoying it much, do you D?"

"No Shayne, I don't think they were" Dundra said folding his arms

"So what? What are you going to do about it?" Cardin said smiling, knowing that if Shayne had another fight with him, Shayne would be suspended.

"Me personally, not a lot, but my friend here would just love a chance to smack that smile from your face" Shayne said motioning to Dundra;

"Or if you prefer I can get Lance over there to come beat the snot out of you instead, your choice. You could always leave of course and avoid both public humiliation" Cardin visibly tensed up at this, "and a headache at the same time, I'll give you...oh I don't know, to the count of three to choose"

Cardin and Frank stood their ground as Shayne began to count;

"One"

"Two" Dundra said and the pair wandered back to their table, Shayne gave Dundra a pat on the back;

"Maybe next time"

Dundra went back to the table, Shayne stayed to talk to the Faunus girls;

"I'm going to leave my number on the table, if any of you ever want to talk about bullying or anything else, just give me a call" he tapped the girl he had winked to on the shoulder, "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah" came a quiet voice

"Okay then" as he went to leave he felt their eyes on the back of his neck;

"I think I should make this clear however, if you would kindly bring your attention to the red-headed Fox over there" he said pointing to Lina, the Faunus girls all leaned as one to see her, "She is my girlfriend, I didn't want you girls to get wrong idea before I left" he saw sadness in their eyes

"Shayne, can I ask you something?" asked one of the girls

"Yes you may" he said with a smile

"I was wondering, could we hang out together later?" the other Faunus all nodded in agreement

Shayne inhaled through his teeth;

"I don't know, I'll take all of your numbers and I'll get back to you. I'll tell you a secret; me and my girlfriend hadn't seen each other for three years until yesterday" they all gasped

Shayne just chuckled;

"See you around, keep your hopes high and your heads down low" he winked and went back to his table.

As he walked back he noticed that Lina had a disapproving look on her face, his mood dropped and he sat down next to her, just waiting for it;

"So, what was that?" Lina asked

"What was what" he said trying his best to look innocent

"You know full well what"

He gave a small laugh and looked to Dundra,

"C'mon give me a hand here Dundra"

He sighed and said

"Cardin and Frank were harassing them, so Shayne and I went and dealt with them"

"I only stayed to be a friend, most Faunus don't have what we have" he said taking Lina's hand and kissing it

She gave him a sarcastic smile;

"Fine, but don't think I didn't see you taking their numbers"

"Aww C'mon, is there anything you didn't see, I told them we're dating"

She giggled into her drink; Yang and Hanna were in hysterics by this point,

"Shut up, it's not funny" he said as the entire table burst into laughter, he couldn't help himself from laughing along with them.

They went back to class and the day passed with Shayne in high spirits. Shayne was sat in Professor Oobleck's lecture on world history when he was handed a note by Pyrrha;

'Shayne your girlfriend is really nice, we made plans to go into Vale this weekend do you want to come' he scribbled his reply

'Sure but I'll have things to do myself, so I may dash off to do something while there'

She slid it back across the table to him;

'You're quickly becoming the one all the Faunus look up to, with all your standing up to bullies and the like'

Shayne just grinned and mouthed 'I know'

The lecture ended and Pyrrha and Shayne got up to leave, when Oobleck said,

"Mr Oceanstrider, could you wait a moment please"

"I'll wait outside Shayne"

"Ok, see you in a sec Pyrrha"

"Now, I notice that you haven't been paying much attention in class why is that?"

"Professor I sit high enough up that I can learn without watching, I learn by listening, I absorb information better that way"

"Hmmm, we'll see about that, I want an essay on my desk by Friday about today's topic"

He passed Shayne in a blur, 'why does he always need to rush around like that'

"What was that about?" Pyrrha asked as Shayne came out moments after the blur that was Professor Oobleck

"He thought I wasn't paying attention in class so he gave me an essay about today's topic"

"That's a bit mean isn't it?"

"No, not really"

"Why?"

"Because he and I have an understanding, I walked out in his first lecture due to my past and we made a deal, I would stay and he wouldn't pick on me during class, but would give me an essay to do each week"

"I wish it were that simple for the rest of us" Shayne laughed and pushed her lightly

"Hey Pyrrha, are you training with Jaune later?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Do you mind if I sit in and offer my advice"

"I will have to ask him about that, one sec" she took out her Scroll and called Jaune, "He said that was fine"

"Good, I think I have something that will help him" the two headed back to their dorms.

When Shayne arrived Lina was already there waiting for him, as he walked in she stood up, went over to him and kissed him;

"You saw each other at lunch, get over it" Hanna said barely looking up from her work

"What's with her?"

"Port gave her an essay on Grimm types and their weaknesses" Lina said

"That shouldn't be a problem for you Hanna"

"It's not, it's just that he has given me this before and he's still getting me to do it again. Plus he keeps flirting with Yang and I, it's creepy"

Just then there was a knock on the door, almost no-one knocked on their door. Shayne went and answered the door, it was Velvet, he invited her in, and she declined politely;

"Can we talk?"

"Sure" he said stepping into the hallway, "what's up?"

"It's Cardin and Frank; they have stolen my school work and won't give it back"

Shayne poked his head in and said;

"Lina, can you come out here a moment?"

"What now?" she said putting down her notebook

Once the door was shut again Shayne said;

"Frank and Cardin have stolen Velvets work and she needs it back, I was going to help anyway but it's more fun with other people"

"Sure, I can take a break" the trio set off down the hall to Cardin's dorm, where they would probably both be.

Lina knocked on the door with Velvet standing next to her; Shayne leant on the wall just out of sight. Cardin answered the door;

"What do you two want?"

"We want her work back" Lina said motioning towards Velvet

"No chance, I'm not giving it to you not even if you made me"

Lina jammed her foot in the door;

"I'm not going to ask nicely again" she said angrily, when Cardin moved to grab her by the throat Shayne stepped in the way, and Cardin withdrew his hand.

"She did ask nicely, now hand over the work Cardin"

"No"

"Well I tried babe" he said looking over his shoulder to Lina and Velvet, as he turned to leave he quickly whipped round and punched Cardin into the room, Shayne, Lina and Velvet stepped through the now open door.

While the two girls investigated Shayne kept an eye on the other members of CRDL and Frank, Cardin was out cold. When they found what they were looking for they left, Shayne waited a moment before moving towards the door, and he stopped before closing it,

"You boys have a nice night" he said with a nod and left. Velvet thanked them and returned to her friends.

Shayne left Lina to help Hanna with her essay, and went to the roof with Jaune and Pyrrha taking a package with him.

"What's in the box Shayne?" Jaune said as they climbed the stairs

"You'll see"

About an hour into training Shayne opened the box and produced what looked like a visor. It could be set to a specific team like a Scroll to show Aura levels and other information, it also had a microphone and speaker built in for communication. Shayne handed it to Jaune who looked at it puzzled.

"Put it on Jaune, I've already set it for your team" Jaune did so and he saw his team's portraits along the bottom, "The school gives these to graduates each year, I called in a favour and got Jaune a pair well early"

"Thanks Shayne, I don't know what to say"

"Then say nothing at all, just don't use it in public" Jaune continued training against Pyrrha until she was tired.

"Mind if I step in" he asked Jaune, who swallowed at the memory of the thrashing he took some weeks back

"No, not at all"

Jaune and Shayne circled each other Shayne more causally than Jaune, when Jaune attacked Shayne called each of his strikes perfectly, he parried each of them and disarmed Jaune;

"Jaune you need to vary your attack patterns more often to avoid this kind of thing" Jaune nodded

Lina came through the door that led inside;

"Shayne can you come back down, Hanna needs your help"

"I'll see you guys later, Jaune don't lose that thing and bear in mind what I said" he kept pace with Lina until she passed his dorm "Um, Lina, my dorms here?"

"I know, Hanna doesn't need your help, now are you coming or what?" he followed her curiously until they arrived at her dorm;

"What are we doing here?"

"My dorm is empty until 11, I thought we could come and have some fun" she said smiling as she stepped inside

Shayne smiled and stepped inside dropping his jacket over the chair inside the door. He picked her up, she wrapped her legs around his waist and Shayne kicked the door closed.


	15. Chapter 15

They were just getting started, when Shayne's Scroll, which he had set to silent, went off, the only person who could force their message to be heard was Ozpin. He apologised and went to check his Scroll;

'Shayne something has come up, I need to see you in my office. Now'

He showed the message to Lina and they got dressed, 'so much for no interruptions' she thought. They made their way quickly to Ozpin's office, Shayne asked Lina to wait outside.

"Good, you got my message" they must have looked annoyed as he followed up with," I hope I wasn't interrupting anything, anyway, you can bring Lina in as this includes her too"

Shayne opened the door, and ushered her in;

"Now Shayne, I just received a message from your uncle, I think you should sit down to read it"

Shayne took Ozpin's Scroll and read the message;

'Ozpin, get Shayne to your office and have him read this:

Shayne your grandfather was killed last night' Shayne's heart drooped into his gut 'as thieves broke into our house looking for money and anything they could sell' Shayne felt anger rising in him 'He resisted and was stabbed in the gut, he died some time later. His funeral is on Saturday, he would want you there.'

Shayne had tears running down his face, Lina held his hand to comfort him, she handed Ozpin his Scroll.

"Shayne, I have already made preparations for you and Miss Honeybloom to go tonight, you will be excused from classes and homework, but it's your decision when you go"

Shayne looked up, the sadness and anger in his eyes was clear,

"I'm going tonight" he said standing up and walking towards the door

"Before you go Shayne, I have something for you to place in his grave" Ozpin went to his desk and opened the bottom drawer. He took out a beautiful necklace, made of Eagle feathers and hand carved glass beads;

"Your grandfather gave me this after he recovered from his fight with the King Taijitou, as thanks for saving his life. I should be there for the funeral, but if I'm not could you place this in his memory for me"

Shayne nodded,

"I would be honoured" Ozpin smiled his thanks and showed them to the door.

Shayne wiped his eyes, and said;

"I guess we should go pack" Lina nodded and followed him back to the dorms.

When Shayne got back he immediately picked up a large black bag and started packing, his teammates were confused by this but Hanna broke the silence first;

"Shayne what are you doing? You can't leave!"

"Yes Hanna I can; my grandfather died last night and I'm going to find the bastards that killed him… his funeral on Saturday" his anger tailed off at the end

Dundra spoke next;

"Do you want us to come with you?"

"No, you guys need to stay and study, Lina knew him, so she's coming with me"

Eddi handed him a pad, with messages written on it, Shayne glanced over them as she spoke;

"Shayne, Faunus have been turning up all night asking for help, what do we do"

Shayne flipped the pad back to normal and tossed it to Dundra;

"Dundra, you and Hanna can take care of these while I'm gone, there's nothing too personal" he finishedHann packing and went and held Hanna's shoulders, "Stay strong, I'll be back soon"

He left and headed to Lina's dorm, as he arrived she was saying goodbye to Lance and Nelwyn, she closed the door and joined him at the intersection,

"You ready to go?"

Shayne nodded and they walked to the waiting Bullhead that would take them to Managerie. They sat in silence for most of the flight until Lina fell asleep. When she did Shayne paced along the small deck to try and clear his head.

They arrived at Managerie at 6:30 the next morning; Shayne's uncle was waiting for them. Shayne dropped out of the back of the Bullhead while it was still 3 metres off the ground. He embraced his uncle with a smile and tears in his eyes.

"Uncle, we need to talk"

Shayne's uncle nodded sedately as he watched Lina step off the Bullhead, having now landed. They walked up to the house. Once they arrived Shayne saw the door had been kicked in, the weapons cabinet was broken open and the furniture had been thrown against the walls. There was a definite pool of dried blood, where his grandfather had tried to stop them. They went into his uncle's room and sat down.

"I know what you're going to ask me Shayne, why wasn't I here to protect him, the answer is simple, I was drunk, I was in town at the bar. It was the first time in months, he was going to die in a matter of days, he told me so."

"I understand how that would drive you to drink, when the person you trust and admire most tells you he's going to die" Lina said quietly

"There's something else I want to know" Shayne said calmly

"You want to know why I didn't tell you that Lina was alive, that wasn't up to me. Her mother decided that, because she couldn't remember you, we should spare you the grief of knowing she was alive, but not knowing who you are"

"That didn't work well did it, when I met her again a couple of days ago, her memories came back" Lina was quiet, she was trying to work out why her mother would do such a thing

"That was where my plan to convince her mother to send her to Beacon came in; I had told her that you had gone to Vacuo to find work, so she sent Lina to Beacon, where I knew she would eventually be reunited with you" Shayne stood up and hugged his uncle tightly

"You sly old man" Shayne said almost laughing

He noticed that Lina hadn't spoken in a while so he sat back down;

"Lina, what's wrong?"

"I want to know why my mother would do this to me; I need to confront her about this"

Shayne's uncle stood up and said;

"They still live at the same address"

Shayne nodded and said;

"Well what are we waiting for?"

They went through to the main room. Shayne stopped to analyse the room before leaving, he quickly caught up with Lina and his uncle. They formulated a plan to force the truth out of her; Lina would tell her mother she was back for a vacation, while Shayne's uncle would be there to discuss the funeral, Shayne would hang back out of sight and knock on the door a few minutes later.

Lina and his uncle approached the door slightly nervous about this, Lina knocked on the door and her mother answered the door and hugged her tightly;

"It's so good to see you"

"It's good to see you too mom"

"I'm here to talk to your husband about the funeral" Shayne's uncle said to Lina's mother

"Of course, we're in the kitchen"

They followed her through and closed the door behind them, Shayne went and stood by the door and waited for them to get settled before knocking. He knocked on the door and Lina's mother opened the door and her face dropped;

"Um…Shayne, this is a nice surprise, WH-what are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for my uncle, he wasn't at the house"

"Who is it dear" Lina's father called

"You need to leave, Shayne" his uncle appeared behind Lina's mother

"Aah Shayne, you're early" Lina came through to see what was going on

"Lina, no, don't come out here" her mother pleaded

"Mom, I know what you did and I want answers"

They went inside and sat down, Lina sat with Shayne while her mother explained

"All I wanted was save the heartache between you two" she was almost crying, "I trusted you" she said addressing Shayne's uncle

"Well, I didn't agree with what you did to them, so I brought these two together" he said his voice becoming softer towards the end.

Lina's father spoke up;

"Well I, for one am glad they are back together, when they first got together all those years ago I knew that they were destined to be together. I never liked Frank but you made me hold my tongue for her sake" he looked at his wife as he said it, "Every time he kissed you, I wanted to tear his throat out after what he did to you" he said addressing Shayne and Lina

After a while, Shayne and Lina left, Shayne's uncle stayed to discuss the Funeral as there was still some things that needed arranging. They headed back to Shayne's uncles house, Shayne wanted a better look at the scene of the crime.

"Shayne what are we looking for?"

"Anything we can use to identify who did this"

She picked through the mess of broken furniture and found a scrap of clothing;

"Here, I found this"

She said handing him the fabric; it was white and clearly manufactured in a factory due to its regularity of weave, it was synthetic and had the smell of long wear and Faunus sweat. Shayne had an idea of where to look first.

They set off into the town and caught a bus to the next town, where a clothing factory had popped up in the last couple of months; Shayne had found that out by eavesdropping on conversations on the way to the house. They got on the bus, weapons strapped to his back, Lina was twitching nervously, and Shayne took hold of her hand to calm her. They arrived at about four in the afternoon and the factory was just closing down for the night, they took position on an adjacent roof and watched the workforce leave the building, they were watching for any signs of injury, his Grandfather would have put up a fight and probably injured one.

Unfortunately not one of them showed signs of injury, they stayed for a while after it closed, a van pulled up outside one of the delivery bays, and Faunus in white jerseys got out and went inside.

"Shayne, one of them had a rip in his shirt" Lina said

"Good, so we know where they're hiding, we should investigate the van before going inside" he said before dropping to the ground and creeping quickly to the back of the van, Lina stayed on the roof keeping an eye out. Shayne opened the van and found some automatic rifles, he motioned for Lina to join him, and it took her mere moments to catch up.

They took a rifle each and moved to the door the men in white went into, Shayne counted on his hand, 'one, two, three'. On three he opened the door and stepped in rifle ready, Lina followed him in and locked the door behind her. They heard a conversation coming from somewhere, they used their natural night vision and their hearing to find where they were; the sound was coming from the basement. Shayne planned on using the rifles as a deterrent.

The took care to be as quiet as possible as they approached the door, when one of them opened it and saw them, Shayne quickly subdued him, kicking him in the groin and choking him until he went unconscious, the took position either side of the door Shayne kicked it in and tried to fire; the rifles were empty, _'Fuck. Should have checked that'_ he thought before Lina came in throwing fireballs, Shayne rushed the nearest one, he used his fists as killing them would cause more problems than solve. Lina came under attack from multiple assailants, Shayne moved to help her, she just threw a fireball at the ground causing a flame wave to force her opponents back, her hands became engulfed in ice and she proceeded to subdue her assailants, once they were dealt with, they went through the only available door and opened it, a man in a mask was sat there on a stool;

"What took you so long?"

Shayne and Lina were confused;

"Where are the police? Shouldn't they be here instead of you kids?"

Shayne and Lina took offence at this, but held their tongues;

"Thanks anyway, these guys weren't the nicest hosts, I'd better be going"

"Hey, wait a second you haven't even told us your name?"

"My name's not important, bye"

They ignored his rudeness and picked through the unconscious bodies to find the one with the ripped shirt. Shayne put him in a chair and Lina secured him there while Shayne chained the rest to a pillar.

Lina threw a bucket at him and he woke suddenly;

"Oh fuck" said the mouse Faunus

"Oh fuck, indeed" Shayne said pulling a chair over for Lina, he wandered the room, "I'm only going to ask this once, whose idea was it to rob the house in the next town?"

"I'm not telling you shit"

"Well, that's unfortunate" Shayne said handing Lina his knife, she placed the tip on his knee, "We are going to get the information from you anyway, so you might as well make this easier on yourself"

"Fuck…You" He spat, Lina moved up his leg cutting the fabric of his trousers as she went, "Okay, okay I'll talk, just get the bitch off me" Shayne punched him in the face for calling Lina a bitch.

"Now, tell me what I want to know"

"All I know is that we got some information about how that house was full of valuables and the guy who lived there was a master Dust carver" Shayne had memories of his grandfather cutting crystals, "He fought back and my partner stabbed him, he was killed himself for making a mess of the operation"

"Who do you work for?"

"I'm not telling you that, if I did, they'd kill me"

Lina spoke up;

"I'll kill you if you don't"

"The White Fang" Shayne thanked him for this information and knocked him out, he turned to Lina and said;

"I love how badass you were"

"He was pissing me off"

"It was kind of sexy" he winked and kissed her, they quickly made their escape but called the police before leaving.

They walked back into town towards the bus depot, as they sat waiting for the bus Shayne was lost in his thoughts, _'they're back, what did they want from my grandfather'_ he lost this train of thought as he boarded the bus and headed back to his house.

'Who was that guy, why was he expecting the police, so many questions left unanswered'


	16. Chapter 16

Lina and Shayne stayed at Shayne's house that night, though Shayne didn't sleep, he was keeping a vigil, just in case the White Fang came back, he was sitting on a chair in the main room, he had repaired the door when he and Lina got back.

He was deep in his thoughts_, 'what are the white fang doing here, the Faunus on Managerie want no part of the Faunus rights revolution. Well none that I've met anyway'_, he was so engulfed in his thoughts he didn't notice the sun rising. After a few minutes Lina came through.

"Morning Shayne"

"Mmm…"

"Still thinking about the White Fang?"

"Yeah, I can't work out why they're here and what they wanted with my Grandfather"

"Well, we can't sit here and do nothing, we should tell your uncle what we found out, so he can do something about it"

"What could one man do against a worldwide criminal organisation?"

"Look at what we did last night, we're just 19 Shayne, he has more experience and more contacts, so he could actually do some good"

"I guess your right"

"I'm a woman, I'm always right" she said with a smirk, Shayne couldn't help but smile

"For now, we should try to relax; we'll go into town later to see if anyone there knows anything else"

Lina nodded and went to make some coffee, while she was doing that Shayne's uncle came through, he was still thinking about the funeral the next day.

"Uncle, Lina and I have some information"

"Ok then, what have you got?"

"Lina found some fabric and we tracked it back to the factory nearby, the White Fang were using it as a hideout, we interrogated one of the guys who tried to rob us, we didn't find out what they were after, but we did find out that they didn't intend on killing him"

"That's no good now though, is it?"

"No, I suppose not, but it is something, Lina thought you would have contacts who could find out what they're here for" Lina brought in the coffees.

"I don't want to know, all I want is to bury him and move on. Shayne, I'm selling the house" his uncle said putting his mug down

Shayne nodded and said

"When?"

"Straight after the funeral; I have a buyer already lined up"

Shayne sighed;

"If you think that's a good idea, I won't stop you"

"You'll get a share of the money from the sale, as he left it to both of us"

Lina looked out the window and saw the van coming up the road;

"Shayne, it's the van from last night!" she pointed out the window and Shayne rushed up behind her

"Uncle! It's the White Fang, take Lina and go out the back way" Lina looked crestfallen

"Shayne, no, I want to stay!"

"No, go to your parents' house I'll meet you there later"

The van slowed to a stop as Lina and Shayne's uncle went out the back door, the front door was kicked in, Shayne was sat on a chair facing the door.

"You could have just knocked" Shayne said as he was surrounded by White Fang, carrying various weapons.

"No, I don't think we could have. Now where's your uncle?"

"Why do you want to know where he is?"

"We want him, we know he knows how to cut Dust, so you'd better make this easy kid, or I'm going to make this painful" the tall Faunus said brandishing a gauntlet with vicious looking claws on the fingers

"You think I'm scared of your threats, I'm not afraid to die, I've made my peace" Shayne rested his foot on a stool in front of him, the White Fang flinched," Can't I put my feet up in my own home?"

The leader advanced on Shayne;

"You'll tell us where he is or I'm going to ruin your face" he said resting his claw against Shayne's face

"Well, it seems were at an impasse then"

Shayne kicked the stool hard, knocking over one of the White Fang, as he did so he rolled backwards of the chair into another, the claw running down his face, cutting three parallel lines into the left side, he felt it burning_, 'Built in Burn Dust crystals, that's going to scar'_, he sprinted out the door and ran down the mountain. He took out his Scroll and messaged Lina;

'Get out of there, they're coming'

Shayne met up with Lina and they ran to the docks, only to be cornered by the White Fang and their van. Shayne had no choice;

"Lina, stay close to me" he whispered, he knelt down resting his hands on the ground and concentrated

"Shayne whatever you're doing, do it fast, they're coming" a loud roar was heard emanating from the forest,

"Lina, take my hand and focus on them" he said as a large Grimm came thundering from the forest, the White Fang turned to see it; they panicked and scattered as it got close.

Shayne dragged Lina forward towards it;

"Shayne, what are we doing!" she shouted over the noise, the Grimm allowed Shayne to climb aboard;

"Lina quickly get on! I'll explain once were safe" she took his hand reluctantly and he helped her on, the Grimm ran straight to the forest and didn't stop until they were deep inside.

"Shayne! What the fuck was that!" She yelled at him

"Lina calm down, you know about my powers" she nodded still pacing in disbelief of what just happened, "Well I can talk to him, he's my spirit guardian" she looked terrified all the same.

"Shayne, why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I wasn't sure how"

"Now, as we're getting things out in the open, is there anything else you want to tell me"

"No, there's nothing left to tell" she went over to him and embraced him

"So, how do you communicate with him" Shayne placed his hand on her shoulder, she heard the Grimm's deep voice in her mind,

'Be still, I mean you no harm'

"My god Shayne, that's amazing"

"He helped me forget you after I thought you died, he helped me cope" as he said those words his eyes filled with tears.

She finally took a look at his face and noticed the scars that now adorned his face;

"Shayne what happened to your face?" she said tracing the scars with her fingers

"The leader of the group of White Fang had Dust claws and he caught my face as I made my escape, they were Burn crystals, so instant scars" she gasped and said

"Shayne they're big, I think people are going to notice" he smiled, despite the pain in his face.

"I know, I'm okay with it though, I've fought enough battles and come away with nothing, so it had to happen at some point, just be thankful that I didn't lose an arm or something"

They stayed in the clearing all day until night fell and they headed back to the house, when they arrived Shayne's uncle was waiting for them, the house was in ruins. They cleared up what they could but it wasn't any better, the White Fang had done a number on it looking for Shayne's uncle. His uncle was mortified.

"I'm sorry, the best we can do now is sell the land, why don't you move to the city when we go back" Shayne said picking through the rubble that used to be his room

"Shayne, I have no money, so how would I get there"

"Ozpin should be here tomorrow, you could come with us as we go back to Beacon" Lina said

His uncle nodded at this and they headed to the church after gathering what they could of Shayne's uncle's belongings. They stayed in the church that night, awaiting the ceremony the next morning. When daylight shone through the window, Shayne awoke to the sound of a Bullhead landing nearby. He got up and went outside to see Ozpin disembark.

"How did you know we were here?"

"I flew over your house and made an educated guess as to where you were"

Shayne removed the necklace Ozpin had given him from around his neck and handed it back,

"You're here, so you can put it in yourself"

"Thank you for holding onto this for me"

"Professor, I have something to ask of you?" Shayne said as they went inside the church

"What do you need Shayne?"

"My uncle has nothing left for him here; could he come back with us to Vale and find work?"

"I see no harm in it; in fact he can run the workshop at Beacon, if he so chooses, as it's come to my attention that we don't have someone to run it right now"

The rest of the people arrived for the funeral over the course of the next few hours; the service started at 11:30, Shayne took to the podium;

"All he wanted for us was to have a place to call our own; he provided a place for me and my uncle well past being polite. He always told me to take care of the broken, while I was growing up I didn't understand but I do now. He was a good man, and wherever he is now I hope he's at peace…"

Shayne couldn't finish what he wanted to say, so he returned to his seat. Lina comforted him as his uncle said his eulogy. With that done they went outside to lay him to rest.

Ozpin laid the necklace on the coffin, and several other placed mementos in as well, when it was Shayne's turn he removed his dark bandanna and took a single item from inside, it was a simple photo of his parents, he touched it to his lips and placed it in the loop of Ozpin's necklace. As the hole was filled in, Nemea came from the nearby woods and Shayne hopped on and took a ride to clear his head.

When he returned Lina, Ozpin and his Uncle were waiting for him along with the Bullhead to take them back to Beacon. They boarded and Shayne slept the entire trip back. When they got back Shayne spent all his time with Lina, but spent it in silence. His teammates respected his privacy and left him be, that night Shayne meditated. His grandfather visited him, and ensured him that he was happy, by morning he was back to his usual self.


	17. Chapter 17

**A quick note from me, im looking for critical readers that i can send my newest chapters to before they get uploaded, if anyone is interested, send me a PM or leave review with it on the end.**

Shayne was thankful that the next morning was a Sunday, when he did come out of his trance; it was a quarter past ten. He needed a shower, he hadn't had one since he got back from the factory at Managerie. He went to the bathroom and started the shower running, when he heard a knock on the door, _'well i looks like I won't be showering for a while'_, he thought walking to the door.

He opened it to see Velvet standing there;

"Oh, hey Velvet, what's up?"

"Nothing right now, it's just that Cardin and Frank have been acting up over the last couple of days, Dundra and Eddi did their best but they are more intimidated by you than Dundra"

"Yeah I thought as much, well I'm going to get a shower, so I'll see you later"

"Um, see you later Shayne"

He closed the door and turned to walk away, he knew she was still there so he went back;

"Velvet, I said I'd see you later, if you're looking for something to do, could you go find Lina for me" he said smiling and resting his hand on her shoulder

"Um, ok, I'll be right back" she walked off in search of Lina

He was just about to go inside when Yang came striding down the hall;

"Hey Shayne, I heard about what happened, you okay?"

_'Can't I just shower in peace, just once?'_

He leant against the door frame and folded his arms, _'I really should put a shirt on if I'm going to stand here talking all morning'_ he thought_, 'nah, I'm sure Lina won't mind me giving them what they want'_

"Yeah, Yang I'm fine, I made my peace last night, he's finally at rest." He noticed she wasn't paying attention to what he was saying, "When he was young my uncle said he was almost never sat down, always doing something"

She snapped back and said,

"That's good; I hear your uncle is running the school workshop now?"

"Yeah, he had nothing left for him there, so he took my advice and came back with us" he said twisting his head to check the time, "Well Yang it's been nice talking to you" _'now I'm going to try taking a shower before someone else turns up'_

She set off towards her dorm, in more of a hurry than before; Shayne was just about to get in the shower, when another knock at the door was heard_. 'oh for fucks sake, you know what screw the shower, I'll just wear plenty of deodorant'_. He put on his shirt and answered the door.

"Hey Shayne, just checking in to see how you're holding up"

"I'm doing fine Pyrrha, thanks for asking, I'm sorry you and Lina had to cancel your plans for yesterday"

"Don't be sorry, I know that the death of a loved one comes before friends, just one thing though…"

"Okay, what?"

"Why did Lina go with you?"

"Well my grandfather always considered her family, from the second he met her, my uncle also said that my grandfather also helped to come up with the plan to bring us back together" he said grinning, he noticed the entirety of team RWBY poking their heads round the corner,

"Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious"

As she walked away he saw the inquisitive looks on team RWBY's faces, Pyrrha shook her head and they looked sadden, Shayne just smiled, took off his shirt and stepped into the corridor saying,

"Maybe now I'll get to take that shower in peace" he saw team RWBY shrink behind the wall, _'well done Shayne'_.

He went back in and had his shower, it had taken him forty five minutes, but he had finally taken a shower. As Velvet hadn't come back, he decided to go for walk and see what everyone was doing. Dundra and Eddi were studying in the Library; Blake was there too in her corner. Yang and Hanna were in the gym, taking turns working the bag. He saw various others on his travels, but still had no idea where Lina was. He decided to go check her dorm room, when he got there, he could hear unpleasant laughter and the sound of people trying to talk through duct tape. He messaged Dundra;

'Dundra, we have an emergency, Lina's dorm. Now'

No sooner had he sent it, than Lance rounded the corner, _'Dundra I may not need you after all'_ he thought to himself as he walked up to lance with a finger over his lips;

"Lance, something is going on in there, it's not good, Lina and Velvet may be in trouble" Shayne said as quietly as possible, Lance's face twisted at the words

They crept up to the door and Shayne kicked it in to see Cardin and Frank, with Lina and Velvet tied to chairs their clothes torn. Lance became enraged and grabbed them both by the throat and threw them out of the room, he pursued them down the hall. Shayne sent another message to Dundra;

'Change of plan, stop Lance from killing Cardin and Frank'

He went back inside swinging the door closed, he untied both of them and he got hugged by both,

"Thank god Shayne, they were…"

"I don't want to know, you're safe now" he said kissing their heads, he held them in his arms until Dundra and Lance got back.

Lina got them both some spare clothes;

"Dundra, go with Velvet to her dorm, just in case those fuckers try this again. Lance stay here with Lina, I'm going to have a chat with our friends Cardin and Frank" they nodded in agreement and Shayne left, detouring to grab his tomahawk before going to CRDL's dorm.

Shayne kicked this door in as well, 'I know I'm going to be billed for this', he stepped in;

"Right you assholes start explaining or you'll have bigger problems than Lance's fist" he said taking out his axe

"Now, now Shayne, no need to be hasty" Cardin said backing up

"No, there's every reason to be hasty, you tried to sexually assault my girlfriend, I should tear your throat out for that, but instead I'm going to let Goodwitch and Ozpin deal with you" he saw Frank trying to run and pinned him against the door by throwing his axe.

"You stay there, I'll get to you in a minute" Shayne took out his knife from his boot and made sure Cardin wouldn't go anywhere, he took out his Scroll and messaged Goodwitch,

'Problem in CRDL dorm room, request assistance immediately' she turned up in a matter of minutes

"Well Mr Oceanstrider what seems to be the problem?" she asked taking a good look at the situation as she walked in.

"These two" he said pointing to Cardin and Frank in turn, "Tried to sexually assault Lina Honeybloom and Velvet Scarlatina not five minutes ago"

"Mr Winchester is this true?"

"No Goodwitch he's lost his mind"

"You lying fuck!" Shayne spat

"Mr Oceanstrider without conclusive evidence to support your case, I'm afraid that they've done nothing wrong, you however, have destroyed this door and held two students hostage" Shayne removed his blade from Cardin's neck as she said this.

"Now, you will repair the door and if I hear anything about you three again, the punishment will be severe" with that she left

Shayne removed his axe from the door, stowed his weapons and proceeded to knock Cardin and Frank unconscious, before tying them to chairs. He went and got Dundra to help him fix the door, it took most of the afternoon, but with the rest of CRDL off studying and Cardin and Frank out cold, and it went smoothly. When the rest of CRDL came back some time later, they saw what they had done; Shayne had left a note;

'Tell them, if they ever pull something like that again, I will kill them'

Shayne and Dundra went back to pick up Lina and Lance and went back to their dorm. Eddi and Hanna came back sometime later. By the time everything had been explained, both Dundra and Hanna were fuming and it was time for dinner. The conversation was more subdued than normal, Shayne didn't like it one bit. Shayne noticed that Cardin was bothering some girls in the corner, he remembered Goodwitch's words and did nothing, Dundra and Lance however could intervene. They went over there at Shayne's request and turfed Cardin away;

"Shayne, you know what I think?"

"What's that Nelwyn?"

"I think he's just lonely" everyone just stared at her in disbelief, "What! It's obvious really, he just doesn't know how to talk to girls, and I know he doesn't like Faunus much, but he has to learn how to talk to people"

"That's a good thought Nelwyn, but he's still an ass" Blake chimed in

"She has a point though, maybe you should lay off him" Lina added

"Is everyone at this table insane or something, he's assaulted me several times, earlier he tried to hurt you" Shayne refrained from bringing up details, she looked down and tears started to run down her cheeks, "He's a sick fuck, I don't see any reason why anyone would want to be with him" the teams fell silent as Shayne realised what he had said, he took hold of Lina and held her to his chest as she cried.

"Well he seems to be doing okay with those girls over there" Dundra said after a while pointing in the direction behind Shayne.

Shayne looked over at him, he did seem to be getting genuine affection from them, Yang explained;

"I know them; they hate Faunus almost as much as him, so they have common ground"

_'Wonderful that makes two teams of racists instead of just one'_ Shayne thought rolling his eyes

"Well I hope they're really happy together" Hanna said sarcastically, Lina had stopped crying by now and was eating again, the conversation returned to normal as Nora and Ren joined them.

Later that evening Lina and Shayne were taking a walk through the campus gardens when Shayne spoke up;

"Lina, I'm going to talk to Ozpin about moving to a bigger dorm so you don't have to stay with Frank, if I get denied, then I'll rent an apartment in town, I just don't want to leave you alone with him anymore"

"Shayne, you don't have to do that…"

"Yes I do, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you again"

They gazed up at the stars and headed back to Shayne's dorm, when they got there, everyone else was asleep. Since Dundra and Eddi had gotten together they had been sharing a bed, so Shayne claimed it for Lina and him to use when she stayed there. They got undressed and got into bed; Shayne laid there his hand behind his head, while she rested hers on his chest listening to his heartbeat. Lina drifted off and slept, Shayne was sleeping more and more, so his team were used to doing checks for news reports and damage to the grounds, Dundra had decided to do the grounds checking while running, 'it's a good way to work up an appetite before breakfast and it makes sure that 'He' hasn't been loosed', he said if asked about it. Shayne dismissed these thoughts and drifted off into a deep sleep.


	18. Chapter 18

The next morning before breakfast Shayne took a walk to Ozpin's office, when he arrived he heard voices coming from inside;

"Professor I don't know what we're going to do with him, he seems to at a constant battle with Cardin Winchester and Frank Norton, he held them hostage, yesterday over an allegation of sexual assault"

"Hmm I see, did you at least look into the allegation?"

"No, I didn't see the point in it"

"Well nothing we can do about it now" Ozpin looked at his Scroll, "Shayne, you can come in"

Shayne opened the door and glared at Goodwitch as he approached Ozpin's desk;

"And what can I do for you this morning" Shayne broke contact with Goodwitch and looked at Ozpin

"I want to move my team to a bigger dorm room, I don't want Lina to stay in the same room as Frank after yesterday" Shayne rested his hands on his desk, "I know you and Goodwitch were talking about my 'allegation' just now"

"Well, what do you say happened?"

"All I know is that at 11:30 I went to team FLLN's dorm looking for Lina, when I got there I could hear muffled calls for help, I sent a message to Dundra but Lance walked round the corner. I kicked the door in to find both Lina and Velvet Scarlatina tied to chairs, with their clothes torn off, Lance chased Cardin and Frank off, when Dundra and Lance came back, I went to deal with Cardin and Frank, that's when I messaged Goodwitch" he said motioning to her

"So you have witnesses, did you even call that into question Glynda?"

"No professor I didn't…"

"That's all I needed to know, Shayne I will consider your request and I will deal with Frank and Cardin myself, I'll also want to talk to all involved"

"Then you'll want to hear from Hanna and Eddi as well"

"And how were they involved?"

"I told them what happened, I trust my team professor, goodbye

"Shayne, because you told Eddi and Hanna, it doesn't mean that their stories will be accepted as truth"

"I know, but if you don't ask them, they'll come to you" " Shayne strode out and went to breakfast

As he sat at the table he completely ignored Cardin and Frank, they now sat with the girls they met yesterday, 'at least they're not bothering any Faunus at the moment'. Nora and Nelwyn were arguing about something, Shayne didn't care enough to pay attention, he was more focused on Lina, she hadn't said a word all morning. Shayne took her hand and took her outside;

"Lina, what's wrong, you haven't said a thing all day?" he said looking very concerned

"Shayne I was thinking about yesterday, I don't know if I can stay at Beacon anymore"

"What! Please Lina don't go, Ozpin is considering moving my team to a bigger room so you don't have to stay with Frank"

"Shayne every time I see or hear either of them I keep flashing back to the moments before you came in, its worse with Frank as I go all the way back to that party"

Shayne embraced her and held her head to his chest;

"I have an idea! Meet me at Beacon cliffs after classes today"

"Shayne, I have homework to do"

"I don't care, bring it along if you want, just meet me there at 5 o'clock, please?" Lina nodded but still looked uncertain about it; "If you want you can bring someone you trust" she nodded again.

They went to class, Shayne didn't concentrate on any of his classes all day as he was meditating, and making sure he was ready for what he was going to do at 5 o'clock. The only time he had to stop meditating was when Professor Port asked him to go down to the front.

"Now, Mr Oceanstrider, we want to see how you deal with both a Grimm and a human opponent at the same time"

Port instinctively took to the stands with the students and sat next to Yang, making her very uncomfortable. Shayne was faced with an Ursa as well as another student, 'do not let 'Him' out' he said to himself in a mantra. The student and the Ursa attacked simultaneously Shayne had to concentrate on the Ursa, as the student also had to keep out of the way of it, it swung at his head he ducked under its paw and ran his blade through its arm. As it reared from the wound Shayne held on to his sword, he dropped onto the bear's head and planted his knife into the gap between the armour plating on its head, riding the beast to the ground, he retrieved his weapons and turned to face his student opponent.

He was clearly very nervous; Shayne could see actual fear in his eyes. He sheathed his weapons and walked over to him. He ignored the spear, pushing it aside gently; the tip went to his throat once more;

"You could save yourself a beating if you just put your spear down and surrender" the other student looked confident and swung at Shayne who ducked the first attack and cartwheeled over the second, he took a few steps back, did a tight spin drawing his Katanas and faced him again.

"Well if you want to do this the hard way, come on then"

The student came at Shayne thrusting his spear varying his attacks with swipes to try and throw Shayne off guard, Shayne was keeping up but barely, 'shit this guy is fast' he thought having to dodge another of his thrusts. Shayne managed to get inside his guard and disarmed him only to be disarmed himself; they're weapons fell to the ground some distance away. Shayne drew his tomahawk and put the other student on the defensive; he managed to regain ownership of his spear. Shayne had a plan this time. As the student thrusted, Shayne caught the shaft in the hook of his axe and snapped the head off, following up with a leg sweep ending with his knife to his neck.

"Bravo Mr Oceanstrider, bravo indeed" Port bellowed returning to the floor

Shayne helped the student up and apologised for breaking his spear;

"Find me later and I'll fix it for you" they returned to their seats and the lecture continued

The day continued slowly, after dinner Shayne went and waited at Beacon cliffs, at 5 o'clock exactly Lina arrived with Lance in tow, he wondered where Nelwyn was, as he hadn't seen her at all that day.

"Shayne what are we doing here?"

"Lina for what I want to do we need to go into the forest" Lance had come equipped in full armour with his weaponry.

Neither of them questioned it and jumped into the forest after Shayne, they wandered to the clearing where he had first shown his team Nemea, he was already there waiting for them though. When Lance saw it he drew his axe in readiness; Lina put a hand on his forearm and he lowered his axe.

"Shayne, how did he get here?"

"He follows me wherever I go, always waiting in forests"

"So why is he here?"

"Who is this 'He' your both going on about" Lance said confused

"Oh, sorry Lance I forgot you didn't know" Shayne walked over to him and placed his left hand on his chest and closed his eyes, 'Do not be afraid, I mean you no harm, friend of Shayne' boomed a voice in Lance's head.

"Lina follow me, Lance could you keep watch" he nodded and drew his axe again, starting to walk the perimeter of the clearing.

Shayne and Lina went over to Nemea;

"Kneel down please Lina" Shayne asked quietly, the forest was silent; Shayne was cautious and glad that Lina had decided to bring Lance along

She obliged still unsure on what was going on, Shayne rested his right hand on her head and the other on Nemea's face, and they all closed their eyes;

"Now Lina, think back to the other day, before I broke into the dorm, keep focusing on the people involved and their roles in it, what I'm going to try to do is remove the memory itself from you and pass it to Nemea"

He concentrated, ignoring the fact that Lance was under attack from Beowolves, he could handle himself. He had to break contact when an Ursa came charging from the forest, Shayne ran at it and hit it with his fist on the top of the head shouting,

"Can't you see I'm busy?!"

Once he was sure it was incapacitated he returned to Lina, and resumed the memory transfer. After a few minutes it was done and Lance had taken care of most of the Grimm. Lina stood and she was clearly happier than before;

"Shayne, thank you for that" she said hugging him tightly, he dropped to his knees panting

"No problem, though don't expect me to do that again anytime soon"

Lance came running up to them;

"Guys we should be going, more Grimm are coming"

Shayne looked Nemea in the eyes, 'cover our escape then get out of here' Shayne projected the thought to Nemea and the trio ran back towards the cliff. When they got there, Shayne opened the portal to the tree atop the cliff, he ushered the other two through but before he could follow them through an Ursa slammed into him, the portal faded, Shayne landed on his feet but slid across the damp dirt for a short distance.

"Go! Don't wait for me" he shouted up to them, they stayed but didn't help they just watched.

Shayne was faced with three Ursai, he felt like passing out, 'not now, not here' he thought falling face first into the dirt. The tattoos on Shayne's arm began to ripple and writhe; they melted away onto the dirt and formed a pool of pure Grimm. Lina and Lance watched from the cliff as the pool formed into a humanoid figure. Shayne started to regain consciousness and struggled to his feet.

He turned to his left and looked 'Him' dead in the eyes. He walked into the forest leaving Shayne standing there; the Ursa's followed 'Him' like a child follows its mother. Shayne called up the cliff;

"Can I get a hand?" he turned to look where 'He' went, _'this, is not good'_ he thought as Lance went to get a rope.


	19. Chapter 19

As Shayne reached the top of the rope, Lance helped him up. Shayne gripped his right arm and pulled himself up.

"Shayne! What happened, your tattoos are gone" Lina said loudly

"'He' got away"

"Who's 'He'?"

"No time, we've got to go to my dorm, now"

They ran all the way there, unfortunately when they got there, the rest of Shayne's were all out.

"Fuck!" Shayne said running his hands over his bandanna

"Shayne will you just stop and talk to us!"

Shayne didn't stop but he did talk;

"Lina, I'm sorry but when you asked me if there was anything else I hadn't told you I lied, I didn't tell you for a reason" she looked as serious as he had ever seen her;

"Well start talking"

"I didn't tell you because it would have compromised our relationship and put you in danger, but now that 'He' is out no one is safe" he went under the bed that he and Lina used and took out a set of bullets and a special handgun; specifically made for killing 'Him'

"Shayne, we should get your team and anyone else we can trust and tell them about this?" Lance said, still trying to get in touch with Dundra

"My team already know, we need to go see Ozpin"

With that he shouldered a backpack, it had the special pistol and the extra ammo in it, and set off at a pace professional speed walkers would envy, Cardin and Frank were waiting for them, Shayne was not in the mood for their antics so pulled out his split pistols, aimed at them, and they let them pass.

They arrived as Ozpin's office; Shayne ignored Glynda and went straight in. Dundra, Eddi, Hanna Velvet and all of team RWBY and JNPR were there. 'This explains why no-one was answering their Scrolls'.

"Shayne, I'm dealing with the allegation…"

"No time for that now, we have a bigger problem" Shayne said interrupting Ozpin

Hanna was on Shayne's left and immediately noticed the lack of tattoos; she got Dundra and Eddi's attention and pointed it out to them.

"And what would that be?" team SHDE were on their feet

Shayne rested his hands on Ozpin's desk, and he noticed the lack of tattoos also, before Shayne's Grandfather had died; Ozpin had been made aware of the situation regarding his arm.

"I see, that is a problem" the other teams were confused;

"Can someone fill us in please?" Yang said

Hanna gave them the shortest version Shayne had ever heard;

"Tattoos not tattoos, pure Grimm, he sleeps it gets out, hasn't done for a long time, not good when it does"

"Uh…what?" Jaune and Ruby had no clue

Shayne turned and told them directly;

"The tattoos were made of pure Grimm, if I sleep too often or become unconscious then it can get free to wreak havoc, it manifests as an almost direct copy of me, just made of Grimm" he turned back to Ozpin, "It's loose in the forest"

"What do you propose we do about it?"

"Nemea told me how to kill it a long time ago"

"Well, how do we kill it" Eddi asked

Shayne sighed;

"I have to regain control over it and then I have to be shot with this" he said pulling the pistol out of the bag, "I have to be shot in the head" Lina couldn't believe what she was hearing

"Shayne there has to be another way?" Hanna asked almost as upset as Lina was

"It's either I die or I have to live with the curse forever"

"Is there not a way to split the curse, share it between the team" Dundra asked his head in his hands

"There is, but I wouldn't force this curse on you even if you wanted me too, because even if part of it escapes, it can kill many people before it tires" he was sitting on Ozpin's desk at this point, "The only way it wouldn't escape is if none of those with the curse ever slept again"

"But didn't you say meditation was better for Aura than sleep?" Yang said

"Yes but then you would have to fight 'His' presence in your soul, it would also leave your weaker, because I have it all, I only have half an aura compared to the rest of you"

"Shayne, I think that you should make the decision"

"What choice is there, I mean, I can ask you all if you would help me carry this, but I would never force this upon other teams, let alone my own team"

"Then let us make that choice for you" Blake said

"No I won't let you, besides were getting ahead of ourselves here, in order for me to do anything, I have to defeat 'Him' in combat and take it into my body again"

Ozpin who had been quiet until now said;

"Then what are we sat here for, we should go find 'Him'"

"Professor, there's only one thing, he has been in that forest for almost an hour now, 'He' hasn't been sat around doing nothing, 'He' will have an army of Grimm at his disposal" Shayne said starting to pace the room

"Well we have an army ourselves" Ozpin said returning to his desk, every single person in the room except Ozpin looked confused

He sat down and took hold of the microphone on his desk, he cleared his throat and as the tannoy system came online, he said;

"Would all students and staff report to the auditorium immediately, message will repeat"

They could hear the message echoing around the halls of the school.

"I guess we should head there then" Ruby said as they filed out with Shayne and Ozpin taking the rear.

They arrived at the auditorium, Ozpin ushered team SHDE along with Lina and Lance onto the stage, and they waited until everyone had arrived before Ozpin made his announcement;

"It has come to my attention that the school is under threat, all students and combat staff are required to defend the school. Here with more information is Shayne Oceanstrider…"

Shayne stepped to the mic, before he said what needed saying he took a good look at the assembled crowd;

"What now threatens the school is of my doing. It's my doing because I attend here" he held up his left arm, "The tattoos you know me to have were never tattoos, they were pure Grimm. This pure Grimm has manifested and I have lost control over it. It escaped into the Emerald forest; it will have an army of Grimm under its influence, the Grimm under its influence will be significantly harder to kill" he took the mic from its stand so he could move around, "We need every one of you to defeat this thing, any who don't want to fight because of any reason, move to the right, that includes the injured and any staff that have families, those who do wish to fight move to the left"

The crowd separated into two clear groups, the group on the right was significantly smaller than its counterpart. It consisted of Cardin and Frank along with the rest of CRDL, the group of girls who disliked Faunus, several members of staff and a few others who had injuries. Shayne's uncle walked to the stage to stand by Shayne.

He looked over at the group on the left, every Faunus student was there, every one of them felt ready to die for him, he was sure of that. A lot of the teachers were there.

"Thank you, all of you, those on the right no-one will judge you for your decision not to fight for you school I'm sure" he said, Cardin and Frank took this as an insult and moved to the left hand side, the girls followed them. 'Well at least we have every able bodied fighter we have now'.

The group on the left followed Glynda to a safe location, while the larger group went and prepared for the coming battle.

Ozpin and Shayne's uncle were behind Shayne as he turned;

"Now we wait until daylight"

"Why wait until daylight?" Dundra said as teams RWBY and JNPR took to the stage

"Because 'He' will be weakest then"

"What if we can't find 'Him'" Shayne's uncle asked

Those stood on the stage all agreed with that comment, Shayne breathed deeply and knelt down; he tried to locate 'Him'. He found Nemea and asked him to follow the pull of Grimm; Nemea flew over the treetops, to get to where the greatest pull was coming from. It was the Jungle temple. Shayne gasped back to reality;

"I know where he is gathering his force"

"Where?" Ozpin asked as Dundra helped him to his feet, Glynda had come back at this point; she put up a large map of the emerald forest on the display;

"He's at the Forest Temple" a red mark appeared on the map

"Send that to everyone's Scroll Glynda" Ozpin said, "Shayne we will need a strategy have you got one in mind?"

"No, but I know some people who could help me concoct one" he looked at Pyrrha as he said it.

A few minutes later Pyrrha, Ellice (Nelwyn's twin sister), Shayne and Ozpin were stood around a table discussing how they would ensure Shayne could tackle 'Him' one on one;

"The only way I see that Shayne can get anywhere near 'Him' would be by a Bullhead" Ellice said, "though they probably have Nevermore's, eliminating air superiority on our side"

Pyrrha spoke up;

"We could use the Bullheads to distract the Nevermores' and lead them away; saving our ground forces a lot of hassle"

"The only way to draw a Nevermore is to annoy it using gunfire" Eddi said having over heard the current conversation, "We would also lose the Bullheads due to the Nevermore's ability to fire its feathers, anyone on the Bullheads would be dead or in great danger of dying all the way through"

"Can I say something" Lina said

They turned to face her;

"Not one of you have suggested that there wouldn't be Nevermores there"

"Why would we?" Pyrrha asked

"If what I heard from Shayne and his team was correct, 'He' can't control anything larger than fully grown Ursa"

"Lina what you don't understand is that he is' pure Grimm', so creatures of Grimm of all sizes would be naturally drawn to him" Shayne said putting his hand on her shoulder

Ozpin had been listening to all the suggestions, and had come to a conclusion;

"What I propose we do is a four team strike to get Shayne to the temple, while all the other teams and staff provide a distraction to keep the majority of Grimm from their path" Shayne nodded

"That's probably our best shot; the question is what would the other three teams be?"

"I think we can answer that question" Shayne turned and saw Teams RWBY, JNPR and FLLN, it was Blake that had spoken.

Frank stepped forward;

"I'm doing this for the school, not for you Shayne" Shayne merely nodded at his words

"Well it looks like we have a plan, Ellice you stay here and co-ordinate the others along with Ozpin and Glynda" she nodded and began her preparations

Shayne made his way to the microphone again;

"It is almost dawn, check your Scrolls for your instructions, you will be providing a distraction so that my team and I can eliminate 'Him', do whatever you can to keep the Grimm from coming for us, if you have to retreat, know there is no shame in running from a losing battle"

He made his way down the steps followed by his team and RWBY, JNPR and FLLN he stopped as he saw his uncle along with Velvet and a few others including the boy that Shayne broke his spear.

"Uncle, what are you doing?"

"Shayne I'm not afraid to die, not since your Grandfather did, so were coming with you to help you as best we can" Shayne clapped him on the shoulder and smiled his approval

"We heading to Beacon cliffs now"

When they arrived Shayne pulled his team aside;

"Do you still have the pistols I gave you at when I first told you about 'Him'" they all pulled them out showing him, "If for any reason I can't pull the trigger, then you have to, do you understand?" they nodded solemnly.

They returned to the others and dropped into the forest.


	20. Chapter 20

They had given themselves a head start and were circling around to the side of the temple, so that when the rest of the students and staff came down they wouldn't be caught in the middle. They moved quickly and quietly. Dundra and Jaune were out in front ready with their shields, next came Eddi, Yang, Pyrrha and Nelwyn. Nora, Ren, Ruby and Weiss were towards the back, Lance and Frank were at the very back being the rear guard. Shayne, Hanna, Blake, Lina were in the middle along with Shayne's uncle and the others.

They heard the students and staff running towards the forest temple, the strike team quickened their pace so as not to be caught up. They had been going faster for a mere five minutes when the clear sounds of battle began to rage. They took off at a sprint to ensure that they could reach the temple. Yang and Blake were guiding them to the hill overlooking the temple that they found during initiation. The plants had grown since then; they took cover among them allowing Shayne to get a clear look down;

He was just knelt there among the pedestals where the relics had been sat all that time ago; Shayne could see no Grimm in the immediate vicinity but was still unsure whether to go down.

"Shayne were going to run out of time soon we need to act"

"I know Dundra, I know" Shayne did one more scan of the area before signalling for them to make their way down.

They were halfway down the hill, when Frank and Lance shouted;

"Time to move" the group turned as five Ursa crested the hill, they picked up the pace and ran down, at the bottom a pack of Beowolves had appeared, Dundra and Jaune collided with them, carving a path through them before stopping and distracting them. Eddi and Nelwyn supported Dundra while Yang and Pyrrha helped Jaune. As the terrain levelled out the Ursa's caught up forcing Frank and Lance to stop, Shayne's uncle told Velvet and the others to help them as best they could. The rest of then continued towards 'Him', all that stood in the way was a King Taijitou.

"Shayne we'll take care of this you concentrate on 'Him'" his uncle said to him as Hanna, Blake, Lina and himself lured it away.

Shayne stepped into the stone circle, as he did so His eyes opened. They were the same red as all Grimm's were. 'He's just a normal beast that needs to die' Shayne said to himself as he walked towards it. 'He' stood as Shayne approached.

Shayne drew his blade;

"You, I'm going to destroy you" he said pointing his sword at 'Him'

It just stared at him, daring him to strike. Shayne was cautious in his approach, constantly watching. Nemea landed nearby and was fighting Grimm of all kinds. Shayne was circling 'Him', unwilling to make the first move, he didn't have to. Upon a full circle he struck, in a single swift movement, 'He' lashed out and Shayne barely evaded the attack.

The battle had begun.

Shayne had to be the fastest he had ever been to avoid being killed. He had to use every technique he knew and was still under attack, he eventually saw an opening and struck, he caught 'Him' on the shoulder, this halted its attack long enough for Shayne to attempt some form of offence. 'He' formed blades similar to Shayne's from Grimm.

Shayne struck with lightning fast arcs of expert precision and technique, though he was almost unable to hit 'Him', he kept up the assault until he got another lucky hit, 'He' didn't allow Shayne to get his breath back this time. 'He' ignored the wound and attacked Shayne with a vicious parry thrust manoeuvre, Shayne wasn't expecting this and took a wound to the side. He dropped to his knee and focused his Aura into that location to try and heal it. He had no time however as 'He' came at Shayne once more ready to strike him down and fully free himself from Shayne. Shayne's world slowed down, he looked around at what was happening;

Dundra and Jaune and the others had been forced into a defensive position by the sheer number of Beowolves and Ursa, Nemea was being overrun by many Grimm, Deathstalkers, Ursa, Boarbatusks and Beowolves. Shayne saw his uncle in the jaws of the King Taijitou while his friends tried to free him. He saw Lina lying on the ground; Lance had broken through the surge of Grimm keeping the others in the defensive position and was healing her. He looked up and as the strike was coming towards him he tackled 'Him' to the ground stabbing him where the heart would be. Incapacitating 'Him' long enough to allow Shayne to absorb 'Him' back into his arm, He stood and with a new knowledge of the curse, he commanded the Grimm around him to scatter.

He went to the aid of Lina and used his Aura along with Lances to help her; she coughed up some blood upon regaining consciousness but hugged him all the same. He went to his Uncle, he was dead. Shayne closed his eyes before returning to the circle. He stood in the centre as everyone gathered at the edge.

"What do we do now?" Blake asked

"Shayne, it's your call" Lina said

"Do it" his teammates walked up to him and took positions at right angles to him.

He beckoned Lina to him, she walked slowly. As she reached him he handed her the special pistol.

"All four of you are to pull the trigger at the same time; the resulting Dust explosion will blast you clear, guaranteeing that the curse is destroyed"

"Three… Two… One" Shayne said as he closed his eyes. No-one pulled the trigger.

He counted again;

"Three… Two… One" still no-one fired.

He counted once more;

"Three…Two…One"

As one being they fired, nothing but silence and the sound of the wind could be heard.

Shayne realised he wasn't dead, he had heard the gunshots, yet he wasn't dead. He opened his eyes to see all four had fired upwards. Lina had tears running down her face; his teammates threw the guns to the side and stepped away. Shayne stood up and Lina kissed him;

"I could never kill you, neither could they" she said as he looked to his team

Pyrrha spoke up;

"Where does that leave us?"

"It leaves us at a choice, either a single person carries this curse, preferably me as I've carried it thus far, or I can share the burden, but for everyone who takes it, sleep becomes forfeit."

"I'll help you carry this burden Shayne" Hanna said as she stepped forward

"As will I" Dundra said decidedly

"Me too" Eddi followed with

No fear showed in their eyes, Shayne was glad to have such good friends.

He turned to Lina as she had said something, but she had said it so quietly he hardly heard it;

"Lina, I would never ask something like this of you, it is your choice"

"I know Shayne I want to do this" she said raising her head to look him in the eye as she said it.

"Before we do this, I want to make something clear…" he cast his gaze over the four teams, the rest of the students were heading this way, "by doing this we will be linked forever, if you wish to back out, now is your last chance"

Lina, Dundra, Eddi and Hanna came and knelt in a semicircle in front of him, he waited for Ozpin to reach the circle of stone before talking again;

"Shayne you look like someone who has come to a decision" Ozpin said

"I didn't make this decision" he looked at the people knelt at his feet; "We did" he smiled and knelt down.

He took hold of Lina and Hanna's hands and they in turn took Dundra's and Eddi's hand forming a circle of energy. Shayne concentrated and projected the Grimm into each of them in turn, each taking an equal share, each receiving a tattoo, and a fractured soul in return. Only Shayne ended up having a bit more than just that. The four stood up and looked at each other, he caught Lina's eye first she had one blue and one hazel, he checked Dundra's, Hanna's and Eddi's, they were normal, meaning, he had one of Lina's eyes. He put his hands on Hanna and Dundra's shoulders and Lina stood by him;

"Thank you for this" they all shared a smile he wrapped his arms around Lina's waist and as they watched the sun set and the students returned to Beacon by Bullhead, Ozpin walked up to them;

"You're request for a bigger Dorm room has been accepted, when you get back I suggest you pack…" Ozpin stopped and turned, "Oh before I go Shayne, your Uncle will be given a proper memorial on the grounds of the school"

Shayne nodded and kissed Lina again, they boarded the last Bullhead along with Dundra, Eddi, Hanna and Lance who had waited for them, he felt protective of Lina. Hanna decided that Lance needed cheering up, so she went and kissed him as the Bullhead took off.

"It is going to be an interesting year" Shayne said as the Bullhead took to the sky.


	21. Update

**Well, its almost time for part 2 but before that, i just want to ask you guys to leave some feedback as it will help develop part 2 as its still mostly unwritten, so cameos are available for those who wish to partake. but enough of my gibberish, here is a summary of whats to come:**

In the aftermath of the Grimm uprising SHDE and their friends have to deal with a new threat that comes from the past, will they be able to stop it, or will they fail and watch the town of Vale burn.

**Well, that's it for now, i look forward to writing part 2 as much as i did writing part 1. Also expect the chapters to be more uniform in length, i wasnt that good at that in part 1 but who knows, maybe ill get it right in part 2.**

_TheWolfbane987_


	22. Chapter 21

It had been several weeks since Shayne and his team had protected Beacon from an army of Grimm hell bent on killing all in their path, Shayne's uncle had been killed and a memorial raised in his memory. It was the Christmas break, Dundra and Eddi were visiting Eddi's family, Hanna had gone to see her Dad in Mistral and Lina had gone back to Managerie, to stay with her family for the holidays. Shayne had been invited to all of his teammates festivities, but had declined, he had no right imposing himself on them at this time of year, he was them all off, that was about a week ago.

Shayne had been filling his time with, working out in the Gym, honing his technique and upgrading his equipment. He had given one of his Katanas an update that allowed for better use on Grimm after his battle. Now when he drew it, it became sharpened like a mirrors edge, making it unusable against humans in sparring, in case he sliced them in half. There was a knock on the door, Shayne wasn't expecting anyone until eleven, and he slowly made his way to the door, picking his knife from the counter top. He opened the door carefully keeping the blade out of sight, Velvet was standing there;

"Hey Shayne"

"Hey Velvet I wasn't expecting you until later"

She folded her arms; Velvets family lived in Atlas and she had missed the last Bullhead out, she had spent every day with Shayne since then;

"Haven't you checked the time?"

"No, I thought you were coming at eleven?"

"Shayne it is eleven" Shayne blinked twice and turned to look at the clock, sure enough it was a couple of minutes past eleven

"Sorry Velvet, I hadn't realised what time it was…."

"It's okay Shayne, you are ready to go though, right?" she asked stepping in as he closed the door

"No, not as such"

She smiled;

"Fine, I'll wait while you get sorted"

Shayne went and had a quick shower; Velvet resisted the urge to join him. He dressed in the bathroom, and came out doing up his bandanna. He went and sheathed his blades leaving his disassembled pistol where it lay; he had taken it apart to clean it and couldn't get it back together again, _'I am going to wait for Eddi to get back before trying again', _he thought as he made his way to the door.

"You coming?" he asked holding the door open, Shayne was wearing his winter jacket with the hood it completely covered his ears, and because of his ears it never blew off in the wind.

Velvet stepped out, Shayne followed directly after her. On their way into Vale, Shayne noticed that Frank hadn't gone back to Managerie and went over to him.

"Frank, I thought you had gone to see your parents"

"Yeah Shayne, I did, they didn't care what time of the year it was, they told me to come back and study" he said sullenly

"Well me and Velvet are headed into town, your welcome to join us" Shayne said sitting next to him

"Thanks for the offer Shayne, but I think I'm going to go back to my dorm to be alone with my thoughts" Shayne had been less hard on him since the attack on Beacon.

Shayne left him sat there and called back to him;

"Frank, you will join us on Christmas though, right?"

Frank smiled and called back;

"We'll see Shayne"

* * *

Shayne and Velvet went into town and bought gifts for those stuck at Beacon, Shayne had asked Ozpin if he could throw a Christmas dinner in the auditorium and he had agreed. They split up as they were buying gifts for each other as well. Shayne got her a dark leather purse. He met up with her at a coffee shop for a drink some time later, she had bought gifts for the girls while Shayne had bought for the boys, he got Frank a bottle of whiskey, _'he needs it at the moment, so I won't save it for Christmas'_.

On the way back, Shayne spotted two people he had never seen before, one carried a pair of cutlasses at his waist while his female companion carried multiple pistols, she also had a cutlass at her waist but her hands rested on her pistols, meaning she used those as her main form of attack.

The male stopped in Shayne's way and held up his hand, Shayne and Velvet stopped.

He asked them a question; Velvet couldn't hear it due to her earmuffs. Shayne did and he didn't like where it was going;

"Hand over your wallets or this is going to get ugly"

"No, I'm not giving you my wallet"

"Take a look around, all these people will watch you die if you don't"

"I hardly think I'll be the one dying" his left arm went to his sword instinctively

The would be thieves' eyes went to his arm; they recoiled slightly and took a step back, placing their hands on their weapons. Shayne saw this, and using a combination of Grimm and Dust he formed a black fireball in his palm, Shayne had used Lina's rings to upgrade his gauntlets to do the same as they did.

They drew their weapons and moved back again;

"Do you know who we are?" the female called to Shayne

"No, and I don't really care, but I guess you're going to tell me anyway"

"We are the Genesis Twins, we came here looking for treasures; this place is too developed to have anything not in a museum. We heard tell of a man with dark tattoos, they say he is as strong as hunters come" the male said as the crowd of people noticed the drawn weapons, the female looked at her Scroll, she had just received a message.

"We know that you possess a Grimm, now you will come with us, someone wants to see you" she held up her Scroll "Be it the hard way or the easy way" the female said again

Most people in Vale had heard about Shayne by now, though almost none of them had ever seen him fight. He took another look at the 'Genesis Twins' once more, they wore what seemed to be fancy dress costumes, they looked like the pirates from stories that parents told their children at night. He had a long dark blue coat, with gold buttons and large boots, he wore striped trousers. She wore something similar to that of her partner. _'How did I not notice these two until they were almost right in front of me',_ he drew his Katana and held it ready in his right hand.

The male came at him first, swinging his twin swords quickly, trying to disarm Shayne; luckily Shayne had found a student at Beacon with a similar style to his attacker, so he was prepared for it. Shayne parried both of the blades and effortlessly broke his guard and kicked him in the stomach. His partner took the opportunity to begin firing at Shayne who brought up a wall of Grimm ensuring that the bullets wouldn't ricochet into the crowd. He advanced as she fired; switching guns as she ran out of ammo, as he reached her, Shayne swept her legs and caught her mid fall, throwing her to her partner.

She landed on him, they both got up and went for Shayne simultaneously, with him going low forcing Shayne to jump, and her sending a kick to his gut, Shayne went flying back through the air landing in a low crouched position, holding his sword behind him and dragging his clawed gauntlet on the ground as he slid backwards. He stood up and hurled a black fireball at them and they dived away from it in opposite directions. They circled him until he was directly between them, they both struck at the same time, Shayne did a standing side flip, rolling between the blades, he landed and went behind the female his sword to her throat.

"Drop your weapons now" he said applying the tiniest amount of pressure against her throat

Shayne pushed her over to him and he kicked the weapons over to them;

"Now I'm going to leave and you are too, in the opposite direction" he pointed his blade at them as he and Velvet returned to Beacon.

* * *

Several days later it was Christmas and the meal was in progress, the students that had to stay behind laughed and talked as if they were old friends even though they had barely met before that day, Shayne was sat between Frank and Velvet, she was still wary of him since the incident a few weeks ago. They ate quietly; Shayne had given Frank his bottle of whiskey when they had gotten back from town. Shayne got up and went to talk to Ozpin.

"Professor, it seems that this went well, doesn't it"

"Indeed it does, congratulations on a good idea, it seems that Miss Scarlatina has taken a liking to Frank as well" Shayne looked at him confused, Ozpin motioned to where he had been sat;

Frank had changed seats and was now sat next to Velvet who was blushing slightly, Shayne shook his head in disbelief, _'a few weeks ago I wouldn't have believed it, but Frank has changed recently'._ Shayne returned to them and he sat down, he told Frank that it was fine that they had swapped.

"Frank, don't screw this up, she's a nice girl, if you do anything to hurt her, like you almost did a while back, I won't be so forgiving" Shayne said quietly as Velvet went to get another drink

"Shayne, the other day while you were out, I sat in my dorm and I thought about the past, I realised that I had been lonely, I had been jealous of you and Lina when you first got together and I'm sorry for everything I did to the both of you" Shayne put his hand on his shoulder;

"I can see you mean that, I'm glad I have you as a friend now, and I don't expect you to forget Cardin as a friend because of this, you can still be friends, just layoff the other Faunus, if you need help doing that, just think of Velvet" Frank smiled and Velvet came back and they held hands for the rest of the evening. At around half eleven, Shayne bid the others goodnight and headed back to his dorm, Velvet went with Frank to his.

The days before term restarted were hectic as all the students had left the dorms in a mess so they were cleaning frantically so they would be like the others never left. Shayne hadn't made much of a mess outside his workstation, he cleaned nonetheless. The others returned the day before term began, as Dundra and Eddi came through the door, Shayne stood and embraced them both with Eddi kissing him on the cheek, Dundra said she had become a warmer person over Christmas, they told Shayne of their trip and whom they had met, along with all the stories that had been told. A few hours later Hanna came stumbling through the door, with more bags and luggage than she went with, Shayne and Dundra helped her get it stacked up against a wall for now, she told them how she and her father had finally mad an effort to be a family again, she thanked Shayne especially for this, he just smiled and nodded.

The last person that arrived was Lina she came in quietly at around midnight, only Shayne was awake; he had stayed up to wait for her. When she came in, they locked eyes and embraced and kissed for a minute or two, only stopping for air. Shayne told her he hadn't done anything she wouldn't approve of while she was gone. She just smiled.

"Shayne I want you, now" she said through her teeth, grabbing him by the shirt

"Lina we can't do it here, the others are asleep" he led her out of the dorm to the old dorm room. They stepped in and Shayne closed the door quietly so as not to disturb the other teams who were trying to sleep, Shayne kissed her fiercely, she ran her fingers through his hair and they fell onto a bed.

The night slowly turned to day.

Classes begin at 9 o'clock.


	23. Chapter 22

The following days passed without incident until that weekend when teams RWBY and SHDE made their traditional trip into Beacon. They were settling down to enjoy their coffee, when 'they' walked in, catching Shayne's eye. 'Wonderful, these guys again' Shayne ignored them as best he could; they walked past and sat down behind him.

"Shayne, what's up, you look like you've seen a ghost" Dundra asked quizzically

"Nothing Dundra I'm just tired, that's all" Shayne took out his Scroll and deftly typed a message to him;

'The guys behind me, they know me from somewhere and attacked me, before you guys came back' Dundra looked up concerned and angry, Shayne shook his head as Dundra almost got up.

Dundra knew what Shayne wanted, he sat back down and they waited patiently, eventually the male turned around and asked for Brown sugar, Shayne ignored him;

"Hey, buddy I asked for the sugar" he said to the others "Is he deaf or something" he got close to Shayne's ear and said loudly "Helloooo, can you hear me I said, can I have some brown sugar please" he went to put a hand on Shayne's shoulder, just before connecting, Shayne grabbed his wrist, his claw digging into his skin. He took one look at the claw and he paled.

"S-sorry, there buddy, I'll just use white sugar" he tried to pull his hand away, Lina had to zap him to get Shayne to let go.

Shayne stood up and walked out Lina chased after him;

"Shayne, what the fuck was that! All he asked for was some brown sugar" she yelled

"Lina they attacked me and Velvet, I outmatched them and told them to leave, they didn't take my advice"

"Shayne what do you mean?"

"Velvet and I were in town getting stuff for Christmas sorted, when they came out of the crowd and tried to rob me"

"Shayne, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it would ever come to light"

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to go back to Beacon and go to the Gym"

"Shayne what aren't you telling me?" she asked, clearly concerned

"Nothing, I've told you everything" with that he strode off in the direction of the Bullheads

Once he arrived at beacon he collected his kit bag and went to the Gym. Yang was already there working the bag as usual. He went and steadied it as she pummelled it.

"Yang, can I talk to you?"

"Yeah Shayne, what's up, what's with the hood?"

"While everyone was away I was attacked by a guy and a girl calling themselves the 'Genesis Twins', ever heard of them? And it's my winter jacket, my ears get cold easily"

"No, I can't say I have, why?"

"Well they had heard of me, they said they knew someone who wanted to see me"

"Do you know who?" Yang said stopping

"No but I have my theories"

"Lay it on me" she said walking to the locker room door

"I think it's the White Fang"

Yang's face dropped, she couldn't believe that so soon after learning that Blake had been part of them, now Shayne was somehow involved with them.

"Why do you think that?"

"They've been hounding me for years, trying to find a way to force me to join them" he said with a serious look in his eye, Yang went to change, Shayne waited for her to come out.

"Well, that's a thing, so what are you going to do?"

"I honestly don't know" he said as they walked to her dorm, "I mean I could go find those twins, but I wouldn't know where to start" he said as they went inside.

"I'll ask Blake, and see if she knows anything"

Shayne thanked her and headed to his dorm, on the way there he could hear Ozpin talking to someone, Shayne turned the corner before the stairs to his team's dorm, and there they were, talking to Ozpin;

"Aah, here comes one of our best students, Shayne Oceanstrider" Ozpin nodded to Shayne who nodded back.

"Hi Shayne, nice to meet you, I'm Vossler and this is my sister, Ashe" Shayne nodded to both of them and folded his arms.

Ashe gave him a look of anger, and her hand went to her bruised ribs and the small cut on her neck. Vossler simply rested his hands on the hilts of his cutlasses;

"They are starting here this year; we have no spare rooms for them…" Ozpin said knowing full well that SHDE's old dorm was empty, "I decided that as you have a large dorm, that they could stay with you and your team" Shayne motioned to Ozpin and he excused himself;

"Would you kindly wait here a moment" Shayne walked a few steps away, "Yes Shayne, what do you want to say?"

"Professor, these two attacked me over the Christmas break, I think they are connected to the White Fang"

"Now, Shayne that's preposterous, they aren't Faunus so how would they even come into contact with the White Fang" Shayne was gobsmacked that Ozpin didn't believe him, "now could you please go inform your team of this development" Ozpin walked back to the twins as Shayne stormed up the stairs.

He burst into the room;

Dundra fell off his stool wood fell on top of him, Eddi helped him up. Lina was concerned Shayne had begun pacing and talking to himself;

"Shayne are you okay?"

"No Lina, I'm not okay, not okay at all"

"Shayne, would you just stop and talk to us" Shayne sat down on the sofa his knees still bouncing.

"We have a problem"

"What problem?" Dundra said pulling a chair opposite Shayne

"We are getting roommates, the two from the café, the ones who attacked me, Ozpin is putting them in here with us" Shayne said getting increasingly agitated, "I think that they're connected to the White Fang" Lina paled and took hold of Shayne's arm .

"We have to tell Ozpin they can't stay here" Hanna said standing up

"Don't you think I tried, he didn't listen" Shayne said walking towards the window

A knock at the door echoed around the suddenly silent room, Eddi went and opened the door, Ozpin stepped in followed by Vossler and Ashe. Everyone of team SHDE watched them enter and put their bags down by the door, Lina eyed them suspiciously from the bed where she and Shayne were sat.

Ozpin introduced the twins and SHDE introduced themselves politely; Ozpin had to go deal with another matter that needed his attention, and the twins stood there awkwardly;

"So…" Vossler said looking at each person in turn; they clearly didn't trust them, "where do we sleep?"

Dundra, realising what was happening, stood up and took them to the two end beds;

"These are yours"

"Hang on, I just did a quick headcount, there's only five beds and seven of us how does that work?" Ashe said, sounding a lot like Weiss as she said it

"Well, Eddi and I are dating and so are Shayne and Lina, so we share our beds" Ashe nodded slowly

Hanna felt compelled to ask a question;

"So, do you guys have a team?" Shayne shot her a look of venom; she clearly meant it honestly but shrugged and shook her head anyway

"No, we don't, we are here as partners, there wasn't enough pairs for another team" Vossler said as he opened a case and took out a large knife, it was curved and serrated.

He noticed that Shayne was watching the blade closely, 'Let's test your reflexes, Grimm boy' he thought throwing the blade at Shayne.

Shayne ducked the blade, it left a small gash in his jacket, Eddi leapt to her feet pulling out two automatic pistols, Dundra unfurled his shield and Hanna readied a Burn Kunai. Lina had a fireball in hand and Shayne had his split pistol aimed at them, the twins had their weapons ready as well.

A knock at the door, broke the silence;

"Who's there?" Eddi called

"It's me Velvet, is Shayne there?"

"Yeah, I'm here Velvet, come on in" he said never breaking eye contact with Vossler

She opened the door but stopped when she saw the various weapons;

"Am I interrupting something?"

Shayne pulled up his pistol giving the twins the benefit of the doubt;

"No Velvet, you're not, just come in and close the door" Velvet crossed the room quickly going and standing next to Lina, who extinguished her flames.

Dundra, Eddi and Hanna didn't lower their weapons, neither did the twins. Shayne stood in the middle;

"This is my fault, now I want to fix it, but first we all need to lower our weapons" he said holding up both hands. His team obliged without question, the twins hesitated but sheathed them as well.

"Good, that wasn't so hard, you two, pull up a chair and start talking, I want answers" they walked over to the living area and sat down Dundra, Eddi and Hanna sat on the sofa, Shayne stood behind it while Lina went and helped Velvet with whatever she needed.

"Now, when you two tried to rob me, you said you knew someone who wanted to see me, who?"

"We were talking about Ozpin, obviously"

"You couldn't have, how did you know I went to Beacon, for all you know I could have been attending Signal, now tell me the truth or I'm going to stop asking nicely"

"You really want him to keep asking nicely" Dundra and Eddi nodded

"Ok, ok, we weren't talking about Ozpin, were talking about Roman Torchwick, he knew you could be of use to him, we were bounty hunters until you shut us down. Thanks for that, we weren't going to hurt you, we just wanted a chat"

"Clearly" Shayne said sarcastically, "is he connected to the White Fang?"

"How the fuck would we know, all we got told was, to pick you up and take you to him. That's all, we swear" Hanna stood up and took Ashe by the throat;

"Where did he say to take him?" Hanna asked through her teeth, "Answer me dammit" Dundra removed her hand from Ashe's throat;

"The docks at midnight, the day we were supposed to pick him up"

'He really thinks I'm going to go easily doesn't he' Shayne thought

"Hey, we want that rat bastard as much as you guys, he skipped out on our fee, we said we had you in custody but you escaped." Vossler said standing up.

"He wouldn't have had to pay you for that" Eddi said calmly

"And how would you know that?"

"I used to be a bounty hunter myself"

"So you don't know where he is?" Hanna said having calmed down

"No we don't, sorry"

Shayne sighed in relief;

"At least you guys aren't here to make me join the White Fang as I feared" the twins looked at each other confused;

"Don't worry, he's had a rough week" Dundra said

Lina came back to see Shayne more relaxed and went and stood by him;

"So what's going on now?"

"We found out that Roman Torchwick sent these two bounty hunters…"

"Ex-bounty hunters" Ashe corrected

'If she keeps that up I'm going to lose my shit' Hanna thought gritting her teeth

"Ex-bounty hunters, after me, they are not connected to the White Fang in any way, shape or form"

He turned to face them;

"I'm sorry I treated you the way I did, but you did sort of try to kill me just a minute ago"

"I was only testing your reflexes" he smiled innocently

"Well I'm glad you handled this the way you did" she said kissing him, Shayne had his hood up.

A few hours later after they had gotten to know each other Dundra and Eddi went and helped Ashe get to know the grounds, Shayne sat with Vossler and they talked about their pasts, Shayne still had his hood up, his head was cold.

"So Shayne, I see that you are a Faunus fancier, it's not my place to judge, but how does it feel dating a different species?" Vossler said taking a sip of the hot coffee.

"What…in the flying fuck, are you talking about?" Shayne said looking up from his drink

"You and Lina, I mean she's a Faunus and you're…"

"A Faunus too"

"No, you're clearly human, you haven't got any…" Shayne threw back his hood revealing his ears;

"Ears? The hood hides them well huh" He nodded;

"Shayne I'm sorry I should have thought…"

"About what? Why can't a human date a Faunus and not feel weird or be insulted about it? We are people too, I mean, yeah, I get why some Faunus try to hide that fact, but I've always been proud of my heritage, so has Lina"

Vossler looked down ashamed of his ignorance;

"Don't do that, I have it bad enough if a Faunus gets upset, you want to know why?

He nodded slowly as Dundra made his way over;

"I get calls and messages from Faunus day and night"

"He's right, he spends almost no time on himself, always trying to help them, I mean there are some problems that he just can't fix, but he still tries to at least make sure that they are ok"

"It's because from day one I've taken no shit from bullies, Lina and I have been through so much crap that we know what they're going through"

"Shayne I've had my fair amount of bullying at school, because I'm part Faunus too, we both are, me and Ashe. Our dad was a tourist and he fell in love with a barmaid and married her, as I said before, she was a Tiger Faunus, she had Ashe and I, and we showed almost no signs of being half Faunus, except our eyes." Shayne looked into his yellow eyes; they were of a cat alright.

Shayne and Vossler talked long into the night, long after the others had gone to bed, Shayne only went to bed when Lina came and made him go. He bid Vossler goodnight. The next morning Shayne caught sight of him trying to see Lina in the shower; he used his Grimm power to close the door.

Shayne smirked at Vossler and they went to breakfast once Lina had finished. Shayne took Yang aside;

"Yang, they weren't part of the White Fang, but they were after me for Roman Torchwick, can you do me a favour and see if you can find out why?"

"Of course, but you know you still owe me that first one, right"

"Yes of course, just tell me when you need a hand and I'll be there"

"I have something in mind but we need somewhere private and Lina can't know about it, otherwise she'd kill us both"

Shayne looked at her, trying to work out what she meant, he couldn't so he sat back down and ate his waffles.

The day passed slowly, it was around 5 o'clock when he got her message;

'Hey Shayne, time for you to repay that first favour, meet me at my dorm room'

He stepped out and headed there, still unsure what she could want from him.


	24. Chapter 23

He stepped out and headed there, still unsure what she could want from him. He arrived a few minutes later; Yang was already waiting for him;

"Good, you're here, follow me"

She took off at a brisk pace towards the gym, 'she doesn't need my help normally, something's up'.

They arrived after a few minutes, Yang hadn't anticipated how cold it would get, so she hadn't brought her big winter coat, Shayne removed his and draped it over her shoulders. She wrapped it tightly around herself thankful for its length. They arrived and Shayne took his coat back as she headed to the locker room door.

"Are you coming?" She said holding the door open, Shayne must have looked unsure as he stepped in, it was the girls locker room after all, "Don't worry there's no-one here to see"

"See what?"

"This" she threw herself at him, taking him to the floor with her, she kissed him roughly, 'well, now look what you've gotten yourself into' he thought.

He pushed Yang off and got up quickly;

"No, no, no, no, no! Yang we can't do this, I'm in love with Lina"

"Shayne, she'd never have to know!"

"But she would, we've shared our souls with each other, literally" he said pointing to his left eye, it was a sapphire blue instead of his normal hazel eyes

"I wouldn't even have to say anything, she would just know, I'm sorry you feel this way, I really am" his voice tailed off towards the end.

Yang started crying, Shayne being the good guy he was, went over to her and helped her to her feet.

He hugged her as she wiped her eyes, they shared a smile and she rested her head on his chest. She looked him in the eyes before he let go of her, Shayne was walking towards the door when Yang grabbed his arm;

"Shayne...you don't need to owe me any favours from now on..." Before she could break down again Shayne said;

"Yang, it's okay, we can still be friends" she smiled and Shayne walked away.

Shayne got back to his dorm as he stepped in; Lina shot him a look of venom and threw a lamp at him, her face turned soft and ended in tears. Dundra was confused;

"Does anyone have any idea what just happened?" He was met with blank looks and shrugs from everyone except Lina and Shayne who were caught in an embrace as she cried gently into his chest.

Vossler came in and stopped short;

"Hey, guys, anyone know what's up with the blonde chick down the hall? She's sat outside her dorm with her head between her knees" he walked over to the shared desk and put his backpack on it. Ashe and he were still playing catch up on the schoolwork, team SHDE were helping as best they could.

Hanna looked up suddenly at the mention of Yang;

"What did you say?"

"I said there's some girl sat in the hallway"

"Shayne, what did you do?! You went to do her a favour, you come back and she's found in tears!" Hanna stormed out

Lina looked at Shayne, since he had split the burden of his curse they had become able to read each other's thoughts, he told her exactly what happened silently. She thought no less of him for how he had handled it, though she thought he could go and deal with Yang again. Shayne ignored her mental suggestion.

Hanna came back sometime later looking flustered but not angry or upset. She went over to Shayne;

"I did the favour for you, she said she's okay but wished that you had been able to help" she said smiling, Shayne chuckled. Everyone else just looked at each other.

The next few days passed with Hanna and Yang spending more time together. Shayne was headed back to the dorm; he was just about to go in when he heard the muffled sounds. He instead went to the roof and lowered himself down the side of the building; he flung open the window, the cold wind rushed in. Hanna went to the window pulling it closed but not locking it.

When he flung it open again he swung in as well;

"tut, tut, Hanna, you should always lock the windows" Hanna fell off the bed and Yang covered herself with a blanket.

"Shayne you're a fucking asshole, you couldn't have just knocked could you" Hanna said as Shayne walked to the kitchenette to make coffee. He heard Hanna usher Yang into the bathroom and toss their clothes in after her.

He made three coffees and left two on the table while he went and sat on the sofa and waited. When Hanna and Yang came out, Yang went and sipped her coffee, whereas Hanna ignored it and stomped over to Shayne. She slapped him hard across the face;

"What the fuck was that!" Shayne nursed his jaw and put down his coffee

"You could have just sent a message and told us to stop as you wanted to come in"

"Now, one; that would have been less fun" he said winking at Yang, she blushed, "And two; It's not like you would have listened and stopped, now would you"

Hanna knew he was right, he was always right (except when arguing against Lina), instead of admitting that they wouldn't have, she went back to her bed sulking to clear up.

Yang sat down next to Shayne, she couldn't look him in the face, and he just looked at her, smiling;

"What?" Yang exclaimed

"Nothing, I just never took you as gay that's all."

Yang leaned in close to him;

"I'm bisexual actually" she said biting her lip slightly

Shayne's smile disappeared from his face; he stood up and walked away, Yang laughing hysterically.

A few minutes later, the twins walked in and could sense the awkwardness in the room. They were unsure on what happened but didn't ask. Ashe knew that Hanna and Yang were up to something when Yang left with Hanna at her heels. She went to where Shayne was sat tinkering with his gauntlet;

"Shayne, what's going on with them?"

"Nothing"

"You're lying to me, you know I'll find out one way or another, so you might as well tell me before someone else blabs about it" she said putting her hand on the gauntlet

"I'm not going to tell you so you can stop asking" Vossler came walking over as Ashe took a knife from her boot;

"Ashe, leave him alone, he said he's not going to tell you, so give it up already" she scowled and walked over to the bed and sat down to do her homework.

"Shayne, I was wondering, where did you get your tattoos?" Shayne hadn't told him the entire truth about his powers.

Before he could answer Lina came crashing through the door, followed by Nora holding a penguin.

"Um, does everyone else see the penguin?" Ashe asked, Shayne and Vossler nodded

"Nora took him from the zoo; I'm trying to get her to take it back"

"NO, I wanna keep it!" Nora yelled as Lina closed the door

"Nora, you need to take it back, it doesn't belong here" Shayne said calmly while slowly making his way to her

Dundra stepped through the door and saw the penguin;

"HOLY SHIT!" he said falling over backward as Nora ran through him and tore down the hall.

Shayne helped him up;

"What the fuck was that about" Dundra said as Lina went with Ashe to find Nora

"I have no idea, all we know is that Lina dragged Nora in here after she refused to take the penguin back" Vossler said

"Well I'm staying out of it, I hate birds, almost as much as I hate Grimm" Shayne looked at Dundra concerned, "Speaking of which, Shayne, I need to have a word with you"

* * *

Shayne and Dundra went to the roof while Vossler went to see if the girls could use a hand;

"Shayne… I've been thinking about the curse that we share, I have been thinking of the past and it has rekindled my anger for Grimm, my rage calms when I'm around you as the Grimm settles, other times it burns my skin and whispers things to me" Shayne looked at him and saw the truth in his eyes,

"Shayne I want this thing out of me, I can't take much more of this" he said dropping to his knees, dangerously close to the edge of the building

Shayne crouched down next to him;

"Dundra this won't be easy or painless you know" Dundra nodded slowly, "There is also the large possibility that the removal will kill you, the Grimm anchors to the heart and soul of the host…"

Dundra looked up at him,

"Trying to separate it from you is dangerous and is not a decision to be made lightly, I'm the only one who can do it" Dundra's head dropped and Eddi came through the door that led to the dorms.

"Shayne, what's going on?"

"Eddi, Dundra can't handle the Grimm, he wants it removed from his soul" Dundra rocked slightly in silence;

Dundra could hear voices as Eddi and Shayne talked about how to help him;

_'They're conspiring against you…she is cheating on you with him…you know it to be true…do it…do it now…kill him'_

He stood, pure rage making him see red as he grabbed hold of Shayne and jumped off the edge. They fell for some time as the building was right up against the cliff, Shayne wrestled with Dundra until they landed in a small lake. They coughed up water as they clawed their way onto shore, before Shayne could regain his senses, Dundra had kicked him in the chest, and he heard ribs snap as he rolled away from Dundra to safety. Shayne stood slowly, clutching his chest;

"Dundra…stop, it's me, Shayne, your friend…you've got to fight it….." Dundra punched him in the face; Shayne didn't want to fight him but he knew he'd have to.

Shayne was lifted from the floor as Dundra held him aloft, Shayne had grabbed a handful of sand before being hauled from the ground. He threw it into Dundra's eyes and Shayne dropped to the floor, he staggered into the forest as fast as he could, he checked his chest, one of the ribs was pushing against his lung, making him short of breath. He could hear something nearby, he continued towards the source of the noise, whatever it was, it had to be easier to fight than Dundra. He almost fell over Frank and Velvet, as they were laid down in the soft grass;

"Shayne, what's going on?!" Frank asked getting to his feet

Shayne looked back the way he came and could see that Dundra wasn't far behind; Shayne pushed past Frank before collapsing onto the ground, Velvet went to check him;

"Frank he's hurt, badly…his fifth, sixth…and seventh ribs are broken and the sixth is digging into his lung" she said after taking a moment to examine him

Dundra stormed into the clearing, Frank saw the rage in his eyes, and stood between them;

"Dundra, calm down and talk to me"

Dundra shouted over Frank at the near unconscious Shayne;

"You think you can take her for yourself! I'll kill you, you motherfucker!" Dundra shoved Frank aside and strode over to Shayne, Velvet ran to Frank.

Dundra was about to stomp on Shayne's skull when Lance slammed into him and sent him sliding across the damp grass. Lina rushed to Shayne's side, she and Eddi dragged him aside, letting Velvet try to help him. She tore open his shirt and using his knife, cut open his chest to access his ribs; she put her hand in and pulled the broken rib out of his lung, while feeding him her aura to seal the wound. She called for Lance to help her set his ribs properly before healing his chest. Frank and Eddi kept Dundra at bay for as long as they could until he finally got the better of them, sending Frank flying into a tree, and holding Eddi by the throat choking her.

_Shayne knew he was unconscious, he was in the forest back on Managerie, and 'He' was there with Nemea._

_'Shayne you know that you cannot help your friend' Shayne nodded, he couldn't speak;_

_'I…will consume him…he will….become mine….ahahahahahah!' Shayne glared at 'Him' and he faded away_

_'Shayne, you need to wake up, your friends need you, I know you want to sleep, but if you sleep now you will never wake' Nemea roared and Shayne's vision went dark._

He sat up suddenly, gasping for air, his aura pulsing strongly, he leapt to his feet and saw that Eddi was being choked; he sprinted across the distance colliding with Dundra and running him into a tree. Shayne bound him there using Grimm and went to check Eddi;

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, Shayne I'm fine" she said struggling for air, Lance came and took her to the side as Shayne released Dundra.

Dundra stormed towards Shayne, who stood there ready. Dundra was four steps from him when he collapsed, Shayne went to him and put his hand on his back, he drew the Grimm from Dundra and it made its way up his arm until it settled and became part of Shayne's tattoos. Shayne sat down next to him, and waited. 'well that proved you wrong Nemea, didn't it' he thought. Dundra woke up a few minutes later; he rolled over and opened his eyes to see people above him;

"What happened? The last thing I remember, is standing on the roof, then it all went red and I couldn't hear properly" he saw Shayne had another scar on his chest

"Dundra you asked me to take back the Grimm from you, then you collapsed and I talked to Eddi, you took hold of me and dragged me off the edge of the building"

"I could hear voices; they told me that you were sleeping with her, they told me to kill you"

"They were lies, Dundra; the Grimm had taken hold over you and was making you do its bidding, this was the only way I could help you" Shayne stood up and held out his hand, Dundra took it reluctantly and they went back to the dorm.

Shayne didn't sleep that night, neither did Dundra. Shayne was trying to understand how deep Dundra's hate for Grimm was by meditating with him while holding an aura link that allowed two auras to meet, it also allowed for Shayne to delve into Dundra's mind and see first-hand what caused his hatred.


	25. Chapter 24

Shayne was in Dundra's subconscious, he followed the pattern of memories back to the incident with his sisters, though there was something before that, something that added fuel to his hatred.

_Dundra was about 6 or 7, he and his mother were coming back from the market taking the shortcut through the forest, Dundra was scared, so scared he never let go of her hand. As they were nearing the edge of the forest, a roar echoed from behind them. Dundra's mother turned, a look of pure terror on her face, the Ursa charged and she told Dundra to run, he couldn't move out of fear, he watched his mother be slaughtered by the bear, he watched the life drain from her eyes. As he turned to run, the Ursa looked up and chased after him, he ran as fast as he could, screaming at the top of his lungs. His dad heard him and came running, along with a couple of farm hands, they were all wielding axes. The Ursa killed both the farm hands before Dundra's father finally felled it with a hard chop to the top of its skull. His dad asked where his mother was, quietly at first, but after repeating himself several times he was bellowing it at the top of his lungs. Dundra cried softly and pointed in the direction of the forest._

_He was sent back to make sure his younger sisters were okay, they were still sleeping, they were only babies after all. He waited for his father to return before going to do his chores, he didn't know why he was doing them, he just wanted to. Dundra's father buried his mother behind the house; he didn't let Dundra see her. After that time, Dundra's father lost heart in keeping the farm running, over time Dundra took over, his dad also seemed to be aging faster, since she had died. Eight years later, he lost his younger sister, Sara, to another Ursa, in the same forest; it was this that eventually drove her twin to suicide, a year later, and his dad a few months after her._

_ Dundra was fourteen and had no family, he had the land and everything on it, but he didn't want to keep on working it. He decided then and there, on the anniversary of his mother's death, that he would slay every Grimm he came into contact with and kill it without mercy or surrender when he was tired or injured._

Shayne released the bond between them and waited for Dundra to regain consciousness, when he opened his eyes, Shayne held in his hand a simple steel blade. He offered it to Dundra, who took it gingerly;

"Dundra, I know your hatred for Grimm is buried deep in you, I know why you hate the Grimm. If you choose to kill me, know that I understand and I do not judge you for it. The others won't, it is no longer just about you anymore, think of Eddi and Hanna. Just if you do decide to do it, do it quickly" Shayne knelt there keeping his eyes fixed on Dundra's, he felt the knife being put to his throat, Shayne closed his eyes and waited.

Dundra's hands were shaking, he knew that Shayne was possessed by a Grimm, but he couldn't bring himself to kill his friend over it. He threw the blade away, it stuck in the wall. He bowed his head and Shayne opened his eyes.

"Dundra, I trust you more than ever now, if you ever want someone to talk to about this, I'll make time for you"

Suddenly a dark shape crashed through the window. Shayne and Dundra jumped to their feet, the others woke at the sudden noise, Eddi, Hanna and Lina sat up in bed while Vossler and Ashe, leapt out of bed readying their weapons. Dundra went to the dark shape and pulled its hood down. Before Dundra could do anything else, the shape leapt at Shayne, a blade in hand.

Shayne caught the arm of his attacker and flipped him through the table. The shape was dazed as Shayne rooted through his pockets, but had enough of his senses to give him the note. Shayne took it and stepped away, Dundra turned on the light so Shayne could see it better, forgetting that he was a Faunus.

All the note contained was the symbol of the White Fang and a small amount of text at the bottom that read;

'It begins'

Shayne looked up and saw that the shape had vanished, presumably out the window. He showed the note to his roommates and answered a knock at the door.

"Shayne, we heard a lot of crashing, is everything alright?" Blake asked; the entire of team RWBY were standing at the door in their pyjamas.

"Yeah everything is fine, but Blake I need to show you something" he went and retrieved the note from Hanna, "someone or something came crashing through the window, it attacked me and after I subdued it, it handed me this" he gave her the note.

She looked at it and her face hardened;

"Shayne, this isn't good, but why are they targeting you, you were never part of them"

"They've been trying to recruit me for years, I always lost them among the trees of a forest or killed them" he said, Lina took his hand, "The most notable attempt caused me to lose Lina, it made me determined to never help them, no matter what"

"Shayne, you know you can't ignore this"

"I know, but what else can I do at the moment, until I know exactly what they want, we can't do anything"

"I'll talk to my old contacts and see if they know anything" Yang said

"And I'll get in touch with my old handler, maybe he'll know something" Hanna added

"That's a start at least, but leave it until the morning, we all need some rest now, see you tomorrow girls" Dundra said closing the door.

Shayne wandered over to the bed he shared with Lina and sat down. Hanna and the twins returned to their beds, yawning slightly.

* * *

The next morning there was the usual mob of people waiting to use the bathroom, Shayne got around this by going to the old room while no-one was paying attention and showering there before going back. Strangely when he got there the door was unlocked, he opened the door slowly, and there was blood all over the floor and walls. He ran back to his dorm and got the others. Shayne grabbed his Scroll before taking them to the old dorm. He sent a message directly to Ozpin

'SHDE's old dorm…Now, emergency' they arrived moments before Goodwitch and Ozpin

"Who found this first?" Goodwitch asked the group of students;

"I did, Professor, I was coming down to use the bathroom and the door was unlocked, I opened it to find this" Shayne said, stepping forward.

Hanna peeked through the gap between the doorframes, she saw a body of a Faunus, lying in a pool of blood, and she turned her head before she vomited. Shayne pushed past Ozpin and investigated the scene as Ozpin sent Goodwitch to get the police.

The Faunus was one he had helped in the past; she was being bullied by other girls for a reason that escaped him at the time. She had suffered great pain, her chest had been ripped open and her organs were on the floor, by the look of terror and pain on her face it had been done before her throat had been slit. He didn't touch anything afraid that the police would pin it on him. He went and examined the rest of the room, he noticed something about the blood on the ground, and he went back to the door;

"Does anyone know where I can get a step ladder?"

The group looked at him, it was such an odd request considering the circumstances, Dundra went and got the groundskeepers step ladder that they used for tending the hanging baskets, Shayne put its feet in plastic bags before setting it up. As he climbed it his suspicions had been true, the blood did show a pattern, it was the White Fang symbol.

Shayne climbed off the ladder as the police arrived, they entered the room and took a quick look around and started questioning Shayne's team;

"Don't bother asking them, they don't know anything, you want to be talking to me" he said sitting on the bottom step, the police turned to face him;

"And what makes you think that we won't deal with you in a moment"

"Because I'm a Faunus and the police don't trust Faunus as a whole"

"Shayne, that's enough, just tell them what you know" Ozpin said while trying to get the gathering crowd to disperse

"Are you ready with your pens boys?"

They looked at him, wondering if they could arrest him for something;

"The victim, is over by the east wall, her chest and belly have been cut in a single motion, and her organs removed, she also has a severed trachea and main artery, the blood pattern on the floor may seem random, but if you will kindly climb this handy step ladder, you will see that the blood has been painted to be the symbol of the White Fang" the police were trying to keep up as best they could, one officer climbed the ladder and said;

"He's right, by god; it's the White Fang alright…"

"Don't bother doing a background check against any of them, they have no link to the White Fang" he caught Blake's eye as he said this, "I, however, do, I have been approached by them several times over the past couple of years. Dundra hand me that note" Shayne went over to Dundra and took the piece of tattered paper from him, "Last night, my team had an unexpected visitor come crashing through our window, he gave me this" he handed it to the police who put it in an evidence bag and sealed it.

"And no, I don't mind coming down to the station to answer some questions" the police were stunned, they escorted Shayne back to his dorm and waited for him to dress before taking him to the police station.

Shayne spent the next four hours in an interrogation room, he could leave at any point he liked as he had been checked and was declared innocent. Unfortunately they still had no leads, the police, sensing they had found an extremely useful asset in Shayne, told him that if he came across any new evidence or anything relevant to the case, he should call them.

He said his goodbyes and made his way back to beacon, when he arrived the police tape was still intact but the door was open, Ozpin was inside.

"You do realise that this is a crime scene?" Ozpin turned at his voice

"Aah Shayne, how did it go?

"They're going to keep me in the loop about how the investigation is going"

"Good, come in and close the door please"

Shayne nodded and did as he was asked;

"Now, tell me what you really think"

"What I think is that someone really doesn't want Faunus at Beacon, I've noticed that a lot of Faunus have made plans to go home, you need to stop them, if we are ever going to catch who did this."

"Shayne, I respect your judgement but keeping them here would put them at risk…"

"And letting them go where they can't be protected puts them at even greater risk, if this is indeed the White Fang"

"I understand where you're coming from but it's not my decision to make, it's their choice if they leave, I can ask them to reconsider and set up a system to increase campus security but I can't stop them from going all together"

Shayne stared out the window.

Ozpin sighed and walked towards the door;

"For all Faunus' sake, I pray your right Shayne" he said ducking under the police tape;

_'So do I professor, so do I'_, Shayne thought, taking one last look around the room before returning to his dorm.

The day passed, with almost every Faunus at Beacon coming to see Shayne about the incident earlier. He told them all the same;

"The police are investigating, the best thing you can do is not be out late alone, trust your team, and they will have your back and keep you safe"

That evening, Blake, Lina, Shayne and Velvet were sat in the library, keeping an eye on the few Faunus that did decide to go alone to the library.

"Shayne, what's got your focus?" Lina asked quietly

"I'm trying to work out why the White Fang would attack a Faunus, the only thing that I can come up with is that they are trying to frame the racists here at Beacon for it, but making it look like the racists were trying to frame them, it makes no sense"

"Unless, it's a ruse to draw us out, Shayne" Blake said looking up from her book.

"How do you mean?"

"Well, what if they want me and you for something they have planned, and the best way to draw us in is this"

"That still makes no sense, but it's worth a shot, we'll go into the main courtyard at midnight and wait for an hour, and if no-one shows up, then something else is going on"

"Velvet and I will watch from a hiding spot as backup in case something does happen"

"If something happens, you go get the rest of my team and Ozpin, do you understand? No heroics, I won't lose you again" Shayne stood up and whistled loudly getting everyone's attention;

"Alright, the library is shutting for the night, time to go folks"

They took the time to take the lone Faunus' back to their dorms before reconvening at the main courtyard at five to midnight.

"Okay, you two hide, Blake and I will separate to try and draw them in"

They waited almost half an hour before anything happened, the White Fang dropped silently from gliders and surrounded Blake and Shayne, Lina silently sent a message to his team and Ozpin as he had asked.

"So, we meet again shayne…"


	26. Chapter 25

"So, we meet again Shayne, and it's good to see you too, Blake" he said as he came to a halt.

"Adam!" Blake exclaimed; Shayne just glared at him.

"What do you want?" Shayne said through his clenched jaws

"Oh, I think you know exactly what I want, especially after last time"

Shayne shifted his weight at the memory, they had fought and Shayne had taken a bullet to his midsection.

"How many times do I have to tell you guys to go fuck yourselves, I'm not joining you"

"We got the message; now we just want you out of the way. That goal can be achieved in a couple of ways, you join, thus no longer making you a threat, or you die. It's simple" Blake was staring at Adam trying to follow what he was saying.

"Blake, I can see you are confused so I'll clear things up. Your boyfriend here is special and the White Fang had great plans for him until recently..." no-one cared to correct him.

Dundra, Eddi and Hanna came to Shayne's side,

"Aaah, the gangs all here, now I don't have to worry about killing the rest of you later"

"Adam, I was told something a long time ago, by a very old friend, would you like to know what that was."

Adam smiled grimly;

"Do tell"

"I was told that Death is a blessing, it should only be bestowed on those who deserve it. I tell you this as I make a point of not killing people, as you may remember, but today I make an exception"

Shayne drew his blade, the simple Katana, and held it ready.

"You wish to fight me; after last time do you really think that's a good idea?"

"No, but I'm going to anyway" Shayne sprung, the Grimm projecting him towards Adam.

They're blades clashed as the rest of Team SHDE dealt with the White Fang, the shots echoed around the courtyard. Lights turned on in windows and they were flung open. Bullets pinged of the stonework of the buildings, some shattered glass.

Shayne had become more skilled since their last encounter, he parried and countered Adam's lightning fast attacks, Adam started to take the back foot as Shayne increased the ferocity of his assault. Shayne disarmed Adam and he beat a hasty retreat.

"The longer you resist, the more students will die Shayne, even your precious Blake, and your sister Lina" Shayne knew he had made a mistake but didn't let Adam see it.

Adam gathered what was left of his forces and left as quickly as they had appeared. Once he was sure they were gone, Shayne dropped to his knees, he could hardly breathe. Lina and Velvet came running from the bushes and helped him back to his dorm. Shayne had to make a decision.

* * *

He woke several hours later, Ozpin was stood over him.

"Shayne, I was told what happened last night, I think you know what needs to be done" Shayne nodded sedately, he looked disgraced, "Shayne, know this, even though the decision has already been made, it does not mean you shouldn't think about it. Whatever you do, know your grandfather is proud of you" Shayne smiled softly at his mention.

"Thank you professor, I need to go to the forest, can you arrange a pickup for me if I need it when I have made my decision"

"Of course, I'll see to it immediately"

Shayne got dressed and made his way to the cliffs, 'How many times have I been in this position recently' he thought as he dropped into the valley in which the forest resided. He made his way to the clearing, with his thoughts weighing heavily on his heart.

He called Nemea to him and communed with him;

"Nemea, you know what I seek an answer for, what advice can you give me"

_'Shayne there is not much I can say, you have already made your decision and seem content with it'_

"I'm content because I have to be, if I don't do this then more students will die. I don't need that kind of blood on my hands"

_'Shayne heed my words well, the things you do in life echo in eternity, by sacrificing either your life or your principles, you change the course of your destiny not only here but after you die'_

"I am not dying for anything that I have no choice over"

Shayne was brought out his trance by his Scroll going off;

'Shayne, Adam is back, he wants to talk to you'

Shayne got to his feet and climbed onto Nemea, he rode him back to the school to see Adam stood in front of Ozpin and Blake. He hopped off and went and stood between them;

"Ready to go, my bosses don't like to be kept waiting" Adam said calmly

Shayne nodded and followed him to the waiting Bullhead, not wanting to start yet another fight. Once he stepped aboard, Shayne was cuffed and blindfolded. They flew for about ten minutes, Shayne made note of the direction they were going, they were heading east, he could tell by the smell of the streets below. They landed and he was pushed out before being ushered inside. He was lead to a circle of light.

"Shayne Oceanstrider, do you know who I am?"

"You're Roman Torchwick, the wanted criminal, and according to certain sources, you're an asshole" Shayne said showing no emotion, Roman barrelled forward and was about to strike him when a voice came from the shadows;

"Roman leave him be, come forward Shayne" he obligingly stepped forward, golden eyes judging him,

"Now, I assume you know why you were brought here" a woman's voice said smoothly.

"I'll never join the White Fang you know? Not after all they have done to me"

The woman stepped into the circle; she had dark hair and wore a short red dress;

"I would never expect you to, but it would have made our job easier if you had. No matter, you are here because only you can do what we need"

"And what is that exactly?"

"We want you to channel your Grimm into a vessel so it can be controlled, freeing you from it forever"

Shayne was thoughtful for a moment;

"I'm afraid you're too late, I have split the Grimm, even if I did as you said, you wouldn't have it all" he said with a smile.

Her face hardened as she conjured a fireball, trying to judge if he was lying, he was emotionless and cold. She extinguished it and strode towards him, she drew level with him. Shayne stared her down, daring her to call him a liar, no such accusation came.

"Very well, seeing as we have no use for you, you will be killed" she strode away and armed Faunus surrounded Shayne.

"I know as well as you do that I'm too valuable to die" he turned the Faunus that now enclosed him.

"Why do you do this, all you are doing is reinforcing the humans suspicions about the Faunus" he saw some weapons being lowered as they began to doubt if this was really the best way, "Come on then, you heard her. Kill me!" he shouted, trying to shake their convictions even further.

The Faunus hesitated, and Shayne waited;

"If none of you are going to kill me, I'll be taking my leave" Shayne went to go to the exit but as he heard the first blade sing through the air, he held up his bonds. The blade cleaved right through them and Shayne drew his blade.

He dispatched anyone who stood in his way to the door;

"Shayne, you know this means that people will die because of you"

Shayne rested his hand on the door knob;

"We'll see" he stepped out and strode away from the door, pulling up his hood as he went.

* * *

Sometime later he reached Beacon; Ozpin was waiting for him in the courtyard.

"So, you're not dead. I suppose this means I'll have to tighten security?"

Shayne nodded, as he went to pass Ozpin, he held up his cane, stopping Shayne.

"What did they want?"

"They wanted to control my Grimm"

"And?"

"I told them it had been split, I didn't say with whom"

"And they didn't try to kill you?"

"Oh no, they tried, I'm just very persuasive"

"Hmm, I see. Goodnight Shayne" Ozpin let him pass and looked out over Vale.

'I hope he knows what he's doing' Ozpin thought taking another sip of coffee as Shayne walked to his dorm.

* * *

Several hours later, Shayne and Blake stood atop the dorms. They stared out over the campus, watching, waiting. They observed several couples moving around, teammates or Faunus using the buddy system. Ozpin had implemented this in an attempt to stop any murders. Shayne's Scroll went off, it was Ozpin.

The buddy system had failed.

Blake and Shayne made their way to the location, he told her to wait around the corner in case it was anything like the last one. Blake went and talked to the girl who had found the body, she was covered in blood.

Shayne knelt down by the body; the throat had been cut and had bled out slowly onto the ground. Shayne stood up and got a feel for the crime scene, he determined that the assailant had been waiting in the shadows for someone to use the pathway. He walked towards the waiting police.

"Same story as before, throat slit after death, White Fang symbol painted in blood" he said as he ducked under the tape, "Only difference is that she isn't Faunus, this isn't good as it means that anyone could be next"

Shayne walked back to Blake.

"So, you were walking down the pavement when you tripped, you turned on your Scroll to light up the area and saw the body, you ran, when you checked your clothes you were covered in blood. Are you sure you're telling me everything?"

The girl nodded as Blake stood up and walked to Shayne;

"She's innocent, you can tell by the fear emanating from her"

"I am not going to let this continue, I have to go back to them..."

Before Shayne could finish a student came running towards them, he slowed to a stop, panting but talking all the same;

"White Fang...want you in Vale..."

"Slow down, catch your breath and try that again" Shayne said sitting him down

He caught his breath and tried again;

"The White Fang have been going around town telling people to get you into town; they want to talk to you"

"Blake, go tell our teams to be ready, if this gets nasty, and I know it will, I want some support, I'm going to see what they want"

They divided and Shayne reached the town in minutes.

He was walking the streets, walking in the middle of the road. There was no-one around, probably out of fear of the White Fang. He reached a crossroad and they showed themselves.

Hundreds of members, every last one of them armed and angry, Adam stepped forward;

"I'm glad you made it, I was getting worried" he said with sarcasm resounding around the empty streets.

"Adam, I only came to stop the murders, now what do you want"

"We told you what we wanted earlier, we told you that you needed to die, so now, we're going to kill you" Adam brought his blade up,

"Before you do, may I make one last call?"

"I'm feeling generous so go ahead" Adam said fingering the handle of his blade.

Shayne took out his Scroll and called Lina;

'Shayne, where are you? Blake came and told us to be ready, ready for what?'

"For this"

He dropped to his knees and a large portal appeared behind him and the rest of team SHDE along with RWBY, FLLN and the twins materialised behind him.

He hung up as Adam's face screwed up in anger,

"Open fire!" He yelled and the front lines of the White Fang raised their guns.

Shayne stood and created a wall of Grimm to absorb the bullets.

"Vossler, you and Ashe take RWBY and flank them, no death just wounds" he said as Lina helped him maintain the barrier,

"Dundra, Lance and Frank, you just be ready to provide cover when I drop this, the rest of you keep the White Fang off of me, I'm going for Adam" his face hardening. They nodded and made ready, with the Genesis twins disappearing into an alley followed by RWBY.

Shayne dropped the Grimm wall, the bullets dropping to the ground, Lina jumped behind the shield wall as Eddi popped up giving them cover fire as they advanced. As they got closer and the White Fang charged, the shield wall broke and battle ensued. The others that went to flank arrived just in time and caused them to panic.

Any that reached Shayne skidded to a halt, regarding the dark tendrils that poured off his shoulders. They parted as he moved towards Adam. Lina was subduing those that watched him pass.

As Shayne drew closer to Adam, Lina felt the Grimm start to burn in her. As she watched Shayne closer, the darkness enveloped him, she was horrified at what he had become, she had to stop this, she just didn't know how. Shayne drew his Katanas and rage filled his heart.

Shayne was operating out of anger at the fallen; his parents, his grandparents, his uncle and the girls who had been murdered. He would avenge them all, he would kill those responsible.

Adam struck first, his red blade flashing towards Shayne's torso. Time seemed to slow down, he watched the blade being fired from its sheathe, it arced through the air and Shayne leaned to the side as it made its way lazily past him. Shayne thrust his blade toward Adam forcing him to dance away. Time returned to normal as Shayne turned to face him. Adam had to rethink his strategy, Shayne had become too fast, so he reverted to pure tenacity, quickly closing the gap between them and ferociously attacking Shayne. Shayne had Grimm pouring off his skin, soaking into the atmosphere.

As the battle wore on Shayne became increasingly aware that he was becoming less in control of his actions, acting off instinct and… something else. He came to the sudden realisation that 'He' had taken over despite Shayne's cautiousness. Shayne was about to finish Adam when he regained control, his senses were dulled, he couldn't hear properly and his vision blurred, he staggered into a wall. He regained his composure only to have a blade pierce his shoulder.

"No!" Lina cried launching fireballs at Adam as she sprinted over to Shayne.

Adam dodged back, Dundra and Hanna did their best to hold him off but he was too fast for them. Lina tried healing Shayne's shoulder but it was no use, the Grimm was coursing through his blood, preventing his Aura from activating.

Shayne forced himself off the wall as Adam advanced on him again to finish the job. Lina tried blocking his advance several times, before being knocked to the ground by a well-placed kick. Adam stood over her smiling evilly;

"You have the same choice as he had, join us or die as he will" Lina spat at him, "Very well, death it is"

Adam raised his blade to strike her down. As he thrust his arm down Shayne caught the blade in his fist, wrenching it from Adams grasp. Shayne stepped in between them, the Grimm had stopped flowing out of him, and he was back to normal. He held his tooth knife in his hand and backed Adam to a wall.

"How dare you touch her, after all you've done? You want to take the last thing keeping me here; I say, no more, you…will…die" he plunged the knife into Adams gut and twisted, Adam spat blood as Shayne pulled it out.

The White Fang stopped fighting at Adam's scream and turned to their leader, now bleeding out onto the pavement. Shayne strode away, picking up Lina on his way past and went back to beacon.

'Now, to deal with Roman and Cinder' he thought as the others joined him and the White Fang took their wounded and their fallen leader away.


	27. Chapter 26

The teams reconvened back at Beacon. Teams RWBY and FLLN headed back to their dorms, while Shayne and the rest of SHDE went to Ozpin's office.

Shayne went inside alone.

"Professor, the threat to the students has been dealt with; I am making every effort to track down the others in regards to what they planned on doing with my Grimm"

"Good to hear" Shayne turned on his heels, "Before you go Shayne, I have something for you" Ozpin produced a box from behind his desk.

Shayne peered inside as it was placed on the table;

"Professor, what is this?"

"This is what your Uncle and Grandfather left for you in their wills, you'd best take it back to your dorm before going through it" Shayne nodded and picked up the large box.

Dundra helped Shayne carry the box back to the dorm; the twins were back so they weren't surprised that the door was unlocked. Eddi went and made coffee as Hanna went to talk to Ashe about some homework.

"I don't get it Dundra, how do they carry on normally after what happened not an hour ago?"

"Hanna is used to this kind of thing and Ed's an ex-bounty hunter like the twins, so this is second nature for them. Don't worry bud, I'm in the same boat as you, my adrenaline is still pumping" Dundra said, clapping Shayne on the shoulder.

Shayne turned his attention to the large box on the coffee table; it was mostly personal effects of his Uncle, clothes and other fabric wares that his Grandmother had made (Shayne's Grandfather never have got rid of them), some photos of the family and some envelopes. There were some smaller boxes inside with labels on, just names, nothing descriptive; one read Lina, in his Uncles definite, swirling, handwriting. Shayne raised an eyebrow at this, but turned his attention to the envelopes.

The first one was from his grandfather;

_'Shayne, by reading this I know that I have passed, so I'll make this brief. When your father brought home your mother she made an impression on us as a family that would never fade, so when they both declared that they were joining up to fight in the war, your grandmother pleaded for them to reconsider, they didn't heed her words and went anyway. _

_For the longest time after they didn't return once the war was over, we both grieved at their loss, you were just a baby at the time. When you were two, we received a letter addressed to you; we recognised the handwriting, so we never showed it to you. Especially after the letter we had received days earlier, it was from your mother. It told of how your father had died and she had been imprisoned in Mistral._

_I tell you this now as you deserve to know the truth, your mother still lives and wants to see you, the letter she sent you is among the items before you, it is up to you what you do, just know, that whatever you choose to do, that your father would have been proud.'_

Shayne was tearing up, he picked up the second letter and went to the window, 'After all this time, do I really want to know what my mother has to say?' Shayne thought looking out over Vale.

Lina walked in and saw that Shayne was upset by something and went over to him;

"Shayne, whatever it is that's bothering you, you know that you can tell us" 'if not them, then me definitely'

Shayne's head dropped and he leant against the windowsill.

"In the large box on the table, is a smaller box with your name on it" Lina blinked in surprise, "It's part of the Wills of my Grandfather and Uncle"

Lina went over and took out her box, she sat down on the bed near to Shayne, Hanna and Ashe peered over her shoulders to see what was inside. It was a Burn Dust crystal, carved perfectly into a rosebud and set into a gold pendant. Lina's hands covered her mouth at its beauty, as did Hanna's and Ashe's.

"Shayne, it's beautiful but I don't understand"

"Well my grandfather did always consider you family, and the fact that you looked like my grandmother to him only reinforced his fondness of you"

"I wish I'd met him, it looks like it'd be worth a fortune" Ashe said enviously

"Now if you'll all excuse me, I wish to read this in private" Shayne said holding up the letter and walking out.

* * *

He walked for a long time lost in his thoughts; he decided to head into Vale and find a quiet corner of a café to read it.

He ordered a coffee and used his knife to open the letter;

_'Shayne, I know that your Uncle and Grandparents will keep this from you until they die, by reading this they must be dead, so I'll be quick to save you even more grief. Undoubtedly they will have told you about your parents and how they went to fight in the war, well only your father died._

_You are reading this correctly, your mother lives on and it is this reason that I'm writing to you now. Shayne I am alive.'_ Shayne couldn't believe it, his mother was alive, he had no idea where she was or if that was still the case, but he kept reading nonetheless.

_'After your father died in my arms, I couldn't go back to Managerie, I didn't want to face your grandparents, not out of fear or shame; I just didn't want to let them see me cry. So instead I went to Mistral, where I started a store selling various herbal medicines, just between you and me not all of them were purely medicinal, anyway I'm getting off topic._

_The address is overleaf, if you don't want to see me after so long I'll understand but the least you could do is write to me and let me know that you're okay.'_

Shayne was dumbstruck, he looked up the address on his Scroll, and sure enough there was an herbal remedy store at that address. He finished his drink and paid before heading back to Beacon, the letter still buzzing around his thoughts.

* * *

He stepped into his dorm to a very different scene to the one he had left; Lina and Hanna were at each other's throats shouting at the top of their lungs, Dundra was trying to calm the situation, Ashe and Vossler watched from across the room. Lina, Hanna and Dundra paid him no attention as he crossed the room.

"What's going on?" Shayne asked Vossler

"All I asked was if Lina and you being together made Hanna feel left out, with Dundra being with Eddi and all"

"Well that wasn't well thought out, although I suppose you were never told" Eddi said wandering over to the more sensible conversation

"Told what?" Vossler asked

"That this had already been laid to rest, or so we'd thought. Hanna had a thing for Shayne at the start of the year, things happened and her adoration for him grew. So when Lina came back into his life, he fell back in love with her, leaving Hanna in the lurch about the whole thing"

"That would probably have been handy information to have earlier"

"I'm sorry, I completely forgot about it, we'd put it behind us and didn't think about you two"

"Personally, I don't really care, Ashe brought it up" she punched her brother on the arm

"Well I'd better go diffuse the situation before it escalates" as he said the words Hanna tackled Lina to the ground

"Too late now" Ashe said sipping her drink

Shayne stood up and hauled Hanna off of Lina, Dundra took hold of her arms as Lina got to her feet.

"Now, could we all calm down and talk like adults please" Shayne said loudly

"Shayne, I thought I was okay with this but I'm not. I'm not comfortable with her staying here all the time"

"Hanna, you're with Yang now, this really shouldn't matter anymore"

"I know but I have this nagging feeling at the back of my mind that something is wrong, I just don't know what"

"Hanna you just need to cool off, why don't you take a walk" she nodded not taking her eyes off Lina.

When she left, Shayne looked at Lina, Hanna had done a number on her, he lip was cut in a couple of places and her left eye, her hazel one, was bruised. Shayne watched as her Aura cleared the minor injuries up, leaving her as she had always been, unblemished and beautiful.

"Shayne, I think she has a point, it hasn't felt right since the start of term and I don't know why"

"I haven't felt anything, have you Dundra" he shook his head, "What about you Eddi"

"No I haven't felt anything"

"Maybe Hanna and I should spend some more time getting to know one another"

"That sounds like a good idea; you should be able to catch up with her if you leave now"

She sprinted out the door to catch up with Hanna. They spent the entire afternoon with each other, Shayne caught Lina's thoughts through their mental link, and they had a lot in common.

They got back late, smiling and laughing as good friends should.

"Well it seems that you two have bonded" Shayne said quietly as they crept in so as to not wake the others

"Yeah, were okay now, we just needed to find some common ground"

"And by the way, what's this I hear about you getting chased around campus by a group of girls at the beginning of the year. That had better have stopped or we are going to have a serious chat" Lina said resting her hands on her hips.

Shayne smiled, they were back to normal.

They all went to bed, Shayne was the last to fall asleep, he had too much on his mind, the letter still plagued his mind, did he want to know about his mother, or should he leave it in the past. She did leave him almost twenty years ago now, he was unsure so he decided to leave it until the morning, when he would tell the others about it.

* * *

The morning passed quickly, Shayne had forgotten to tell his team about the letter, they had been too busy trying to get to class on time. Shayne couldn't concentrate as the second he sat down his head buzzed around the letters he had read the day before.

He didn't realise that he was being spoken to;

"Shayne, are you even listening to me?" Lina said leaning into his line of sight

"What? Oh sorry, I was thinking about something else, what were you saying?"

"Uurgh, it doesn't matter now"

They sat in silence for a while, before Nora came crashing into the cafeteria;

"Hey guys, have I got some news for you"

"Nora, sit down and stop making a scene" Ren said grabbing her wrist and pulling her down onto the bench

"Now, what is this 'news' you have for us"

"Well, I was walking past Ozpin's office earlier and I overheard part of a conversation between him and some woman"

"What did you hear?" Yang asked

"Something about an open teaching position, he called her an old friend; he didn't sound very sincere about it, more like he was unsure if she was welcome here"

Shayne was lost in his thoughts as Nora rambled on, he couldn't bring himself to talk about the letter, not in front of all these people, and he changed his mind, he decided to tell them individually. Lina could see him concentrating hard on something and got his attention;

"Hey, Shayne, can I talk to you, in private" Shayne nodded and followed her out into the midday air and sat next to her on a bench, the sun danced through the trees.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"Shayne, I can see that something is upsetting you, you haven't looked me in the eye all day, what's bothering you?"

Shayne's head dropped, 'well I suppose this is a good a time as any other'

"In that box yesterday, I got two letters, one from my grandfather"

"Yeah I saw that on the table after you stepped out, I put it back in the envelope before someone read it by accident"

"Thanks, it was sort of private" she smiled as he looked at her, she caught his eye, before she could read anything he turned away.

"Shayne…please….just talk to me" she said almost crying, she hated seeing him this way, it was the same when his grandfather died, and when he buried his Uncle.

*sigh*"Lina, you remember when we met, I told you that my parents had both died in the war" she nodded.

"Well, it seems that I was misinformed, there was a letter was from my mother, and the one from my grandfather said that it had come a few weeks after they had gone off to fight. She's alive in Mistral, and I don't know what to do" he looked up and she embraced him, he pulled away;

"Should I go see her after all this time, I mean I was fine with not knowing until now, but I just don't know anymore, what if she's nothing like I imagined her"

"Shayne I don't know what to tell you, when we were re-united and I found out what my mother had done, I needed to confront her about it, because that's just the kind person I am. I'll think no less of you for not wanting to find out why she hasn't tried to get in touch with you in all this time"

"That's it then, I'm going to Mistral"

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I need to do this on my own, and you need to keep up with the school work" she grimaced at the thought

"Don't remind me, I've already got three essays due in a couple of days, so when are you going?"

"I'll have to go talk to Ozpin; I may have to wait until the weekend"

"Well, that gives you time to tell the others, so even if you can go early why don't you stay and tell them the situation"

Shayne stood up, and she followed him to their next class. The rest of the day passed with Shayne concentrating more on his work, since talking to Lina had eased his mind over the issue with the letter. On the way to his final class of the day, he saw her, the woman from the warehouse, 'What's she doing here' he watched her pass by, she smiled at him, her golden eyes burning into him. He almost bumped into Ozpin;

"Oh, sorry professor I didn't see you there" Shayne said straightening himself up

"That's quite alright Shayne, I see something caught your attention about our new member of staff" his face turned stony as he watched her turn the corner

"Professor, I was going to come see you later, but as you're here can I ask you something?"

"Of course, what's on your mind?"

"In that box you gave me the other day, there was two letters, one from my grandfather and the other was from my mother"

"I see, in case you're wondering, no, I don't know why you weren't told that your mother was alive"

"That's okay, the reason I wanted to talk to you is that I want to go and see her, she's in Mistral and I know the address of her store…"

"You want to know if you can go. Shayne I'm afraid that I can't let you go until this weekend"

"I understand, well I'd better get to class. Oh before I go, what is she going to teach?" he said motioning behind him

"That's for her to decide, she hasn't really told me what her expertise is in, why do you ask?"

"It's just that I've seen her before, in the warehouse when I went with Adam" Ozpin's face hardened

"Thank you for bringing that to my attention, Shayne, I will look into it" Shayne took his leave and arrived late to class, he didn't care, he was more concerned with the fact that Ozpin was lying to him.

His mind was on the weekend, he was focused on his parents, and he had laid the last memories he had of them, to rest with his Grandfather. He was still unsure on how he would tell his team.


	28. Chapter 27

The next morning Shayne woke early and woke the rest of his team, taking care to put his hand over Hanna's mouth to keep her from shouting at him, she liked to sleep. With them all awake he sat them down on the sofa and began to pace before them. Hanna yawned and looked concerned;

"Shayne what's going on?" Hanna said rubbing her eyes

"We'll you know I got that box a couple of days ago" they nodded,

"In it were two letters, the first was from my Grandfather it explained about the second letter...which was from my mother"

"Wait a second, I thought you said your parents were dead" Dundra asked blinking sleep from his eyes

"As far as I was concerned, when we met, they were, well my father still is dead"

"So what has this got to do with us?" Eddi asked unfazed by the early wake up.

"To be honest, not a thing, I'm going to see her in Mistral this weekend and I thought that I would let you know what was going on" he said finally stopping pacing.

"Shayne, at least you had the courage to tell us about this" Dundra said as Lina walked over.

Eddi made a decision, she would tell them about her past, and about the things she had done and seen. That could wait until later, for now they had to get dressed for classes.

Later that day Shayne was on his way to his last class, he hadn't been able to concentrate all day. He realised that he had left an essay at his dorm, and ran back to get it. He opened the door and Ashe was sat on her bed crying softly holding her Scroll.

"Ashe, are you okay?" her head shot up and she wiped her face.

"Y-yeah Shayne I'm fine, what are you doing here?"

"I came back to get an essay, are you sure okay, you don't look like you are"

"Yes I'm fine can we drop the subject" she said shutting her Scroll

"Well what are you doing here, shouldn't you be in class?"

"I could ask you the same"

"Good point, well I'm already so late now as it is I may as well not go" Shayne said putting his things away and taking off his jacket.

Ashe watched him cross the room and walk into the bathroom. The shower began to hiss as water struck the tiles.

"Shayne…I have something I want to tell you" she said standing next to the door.

It opened suddenly and Shayne peered out.

"Can it wait until I finish in here" he was shirtless and Ashe had to resist the urge to drool.

"Uh…of course it can wait, sorry for disturbing you" she quickly walked over to her bed and looked at her Scroll again. Various images of Shayne flipped along the screen.

Shayne emerged from the shower a few minutes later, he was half dressed, he'd only made the mistake of walking out in just a towel once, and at least it was only Hanna that had noticed. Ashe looked up from her Scroll as he sat down at his workbench.

"Shayne, I really need to tell you something"

"Oh right, so what is it Ashe?"

"I'm in love with a guy who is dating someone and I don't know if I should tell him how I feel"

"Well, you should probably try to tell him in private how you feel and see where it goes from there"

"Well, okay…Shayne…"

"Yes Ashe?"

"I just told you…"

Shayne blinked a couple of times in disbelief, when suddenly Lina and Hanna came walking through the door, Lina made a bee-line straight for Shayne.

"Where the fuck were you?"

"I was here" Shayne said standing up.

"Why weren't you in class?"

I forgot something so I came back here, by the time I found what I was looking for I was too late to class to bother going so I didn't, and I got thinking about the letter…"

"Well because of you I got lumbered with a load of essay work to do and Ozpin is coming here later to see you" Shayne looked down at his gauntlet and stood up, making for the door.

"Where are you going? Ozpin could be here any minute"

"I'm taking a walk, alone"

"No you're staying here" Lina threw his knife at him; he turned and caught the blade.

"I'll be back soon"

Shayne left and encountered Ozpin while out on his walk.

"Shayne, why didn't you attend your class today?"

"I was thinking about the letter from my mother"

"What about it?"

"Well it's been taking all of my concentration and I was wondering…"

"I said that you couldn't go early but if it has this much of your concentration, then I suppose you could go early if it would let you get this out of your mind"

"What about my team?"

"If it means so much to you then they can go as well"

"Thank you Professor, but I'd like to go a day before the rest as I have things I need to do"

"Okay then, I'll let you go prepare, you can leave tonight" with that Ozpin walked away.

Shayne gazed into the sky, he didn't know what to expect and he was nervous. He walked back to his dorm. A pair of yellow eyes watched from the shadows, they burned with hate.

'I will have my vengeance Shayne' the eyes thought before turning and disappearing into the shadows.

Shayne arrived back at the dorm and began packing, drawing confused looks from everyone.

"Shayne…what's going on, you're not leaving are you?"

"No Hanna I'm not leaving I'm just taking a trip to go visit my mother in Mistral"

"Then I'm coming with you"

"No you guys are coming in a couple of days, there's some things I need to do alone…"

"But…"

"Hanna drop it, if he says he has things he needs to do alone, then we should respect that"

"Thank you Dundra, Lina take care of yourself, I'll see you in two days at most" they shared an embrace and when she eventually let go, he picked up his bag and walked out.

Shayne met Ozpin at the Bullhead.

"Shayne, this will take you to the docks so you can board a ship for Mistral, I hope you find what you're looking for"

"So do I professor…" Shayne stepped aboard the Bullhead and it hauled itself into the sky.

Shayne stood on the edge of the platform gazing down at Vale as it sped along under him, the lights of the street lamps switching on in the fading light of day. The streets were still full of people going about their business. He arrived at the docks late, the ship was minutes away from departing, he was climbing the slope to board the ship when he heard a familiar voice swear after a crash.

He turned and saw Ellice on the shore line; he made his way down and helped pick up her things.

"Thank you so much, I'm just clumsy…Oh, hey Shayne, long time no see"

"Likewise, so what takes you to Mistral this fine evening?"

"I'm going to see my supplier, I haven't received my normal shipment of paint, and what about you Shayne, why are you going?" she said as they climbed the gangplank.

"I have my reasons; I'd rather not talk about it"

"Oh come on, you can trust me" she smiled and pushed him lightly.

He remembered how she had helped them to deal with the Grimm all those weeks ago, the memory of his uncle flashed in his mind.

*sigh* "Fine, I'm going to see my mother for the first time ever since she left when I was a baby"

"My god, why did she leave, do you know?"

"My dad and her went to fight in the war, leaving me with my grandparents"

"And what about your dad, where is he?"

"He's dead, I thought my mother was too until I got a letter from my Grandfathers will from her, it explained that after my dad had died she had gone to Mistral and opened a store, and I'm assuming that's she is still there as the letter is almost as old as I am"

"Well, once I've visited my supplier we'll go see her together"

"I have some other business as well that I need to do first, but I'd like that Ellice"

The trip took several hours and Shayne managed to find a cabin so that Ellice could sleep. He decided to take a walk. His meandering brought him to the top deck and into the open air, the moon shone bright in the dark sky, casting a silver glow on the calm waters.

He leant against the guard rail and a girl came and stood next to him.

"Evening, what are you doing out here all by your lonesome?"

"Am I not allowed to be alone?"

"I'm not saying you're not allowed to be alone, it's just that I'm alone too"

"What's your point…" he gestured trying to coax her into giving up her name

"Rose, my name's Rose"

"Nice to meet you Rose, I'm Shayne"

"Well nice to meet you too, my point is I thought we could be alone together"

"I have a girlfriend"

"Oh, well where's she?"

"She's back in Vale"

"Then why don't we go for a drink?"

Shayne sighed and his head dropped, he knew she wasn't going to drop this.

"Fine, but I'm not paying for your drinks" Rose laughed and punched him in the arm.

They sat talking and drinking long into the early hours before Rose asked him to walk her back to her cabin, Shayne was a gentleman and took her back to her room, she fell over half way there so he picked her up and carried her the rest of the way. He opened the door and put her down on the bed, she grabbed hold of his lapels and kissed him. Shayne was drunk, he knew this was wrong but he couldn't help himself.

* * *

The next morning Shayne woke up to find Rose's head on his bare chest, he raised his head and looked out the window, Mistral was just becoming visible on the horizon, they would be arriving in the next few hours. He tried to sit up, but Rose stirred ad he stopped, instead he took a pillow and slipped it under her head as he got out of bed. He made a mental note to drink less and gathered his clothes. He was dressing when she woke.

"Hey, good morning Shayne"

"Rose, last night was a mistake….im sorry"

"Why, your girlfriend never has to know"

"That's not the point, I shouldn't have had sex with you, I should go"

"Shayne, you're such an asshole"

"Why am I an asshole?"

"You made me love you and now you're leaving, typical men, get the fuck out" she shouted the last part and he left without another word.

Later that morning Rose was sat in the restaurant on the upper deck when she was approached by a male in his early twenties.

"do you want to get back at him?" he said from behind her.

"Who are you and what are you talking about?"

"Shayne…do you want to get back at him?"

"Of course but what's this got to do with you?"

"Let me explain…" he sat down at the table and told her his plan.

* * *

The ship arrived at Mistral at around 11:45 and Shayne disembarked with Ellice.

"Shayne, you seem troubled, did something happen last night?"

"No Ellice I'm fine, now come on we've got things to do"

They walked for a while with Ellice leading the way, they mostly walked in silence, Shayne eventually had Ellice wait in a café while he went and did something in private.

He walked down an alley way to an almost perfectly hidden doorway, known only to those who have contacts and the know how to find it. He knocked on the door and an eye panel slid open, a pair of green eyes squinted at him through the shade of the alley.

"Yes, what do you want?"

"I'm here to purchase some merchandise"

"Really and how do you intend to pay?"

Shayne held up a brown packet, it was as thick as the man's arm.

"Very well, do come in" the door opened and Shayne stepped inside and allowed his eyes to adjust to the white lights of the store before moving around the glass cases.

He looked in several and found what he was looking for, he signalled the store clerk and he came over and unlocked the case. Shayne pointed at the pieces and the clerk handed one to him and Shayne examined it closely, checking it for imperfections or any indication that it was fake. One he was happy handed it back to the clerk.

"And how would you like these packaged sir"

"Individual boxes" Shayne said putting the package on the case

The clerk nodded and took the jewellery and came back a few minutes later with them in individual boxes, Shayne inspected them again to ensure he hadn't been duped.

"Now why would I switch them out for fakes, you're paying by cash"

"Can't be too careful, now there's seventy five hundred in there, that's more than enough for these and you know it, but I'll let you keep the rest if it means I get to leave alive" Shayne knew that as soon as he stepped outside he would be jumped and killed to get the rings back.

"You really are observant, very well you may keep them, I bid you good day" the clerk opened the door and the large men stepped inside and bowed their heads to Shayne as he left.

* * *

Shayne went back to Ellice stowing the small cases in his inside breast pocket. They continued walking until they arrived at Ellice's supplier. She was about to go inside when Shayne grabbed hold of her wrist.

"What are we doing here?"

"This is my supplier, is something wrong"

"This is the same place as my mother told me to come…."


	29. Chapter 28

"What?"

"Here look at the letter" Shayne took the letter from his pocket and handed it to her as a pair of men walked into the store.

"My god Shayne, your right, but now that we're here what's your plan?"

"I don't know…" he tailed off as the men who had gone in before them had the clerk at gunpoint.

The pair came running from the store and Shayne whisked Ellice into a corner to shield her from anything that might happen. She felt his breath on her face, she caught his eye and she blushed. Shayne moved away as the clerk came out of the door, she noticed the weapons on Shayne's back and spoke to him.

"Hey kid, if you get back what they stole there a reward in it for you"

Shayne turned his head slightly, flashed his teeth and nodded before taking off after them.

"Ellice, how nice to see you, who was your friend, you finally got a boyfriend?"

"No Selena, he's just a friend"

"So what brings you to see me today?"

"I'm here about my paint"

"Aah okay then come on in, I'll get it sorted for you…"

* * *

Shayne caught the thieves with relative ease; they had left people and trash cans in their wake as they ran. They were in an alleyway, checking the money when he came up behind them. One turned to face him and remembered seeing him outside the store they had just robbed.

"What the fuck do you want, punk"

"I want the contents of that bag there" Shayne said pointing to the backpack that was being held open, inside were wrapped packages and money, lots of it.

"Oh yeah, and what are you gonna do if we don't give it to you?" the other said brandishing the gun, while his partner took out a machete.

Shayne removed his hood, revealing his ears, and drawing his katana.

"You guys have obviously never met a hunter before, now hand over the bag or I'll pry it from your cold dead hands" Shayne said pointing his sword at them.

They zipped it up and the one with the gun aimed at Shayne, he pulled the trigger. The bullet careened across the space between them, Shayne split the bullet and rushed the pair, disarming the one with the gun sending it skittering across the concrete. Shayne parried a slash and kicked the other in the stomach; the machete fell from his grasp and he dropped to one knee. He looked up to find the tip of Shayne's blade at his throat.

"Now hand me the bag, or I'll have to do something that you'll regret" Shayne said pulling his knife from his thigh.

The one that used to have the gun, threw Shayne the bag, he caught it with the tip of his knife sliding it up his arm and over his shoulder. Shayne removed the blade from his throat and kicked him hard in the face, knocking him unconscious. His partner just stood there and watched Shayne back out of the alley, stowing his weapons and pulling up his hood. Shayne set off at a run back to the store.

Three people saw what had happened in that alleyway, all wanted him either dead or to suffer. The white hooded male took off over the roof tops after him, while the other two walked the streets in silence. They weren't working together but were working towards a common goal.

* * *

Shayne detoured back to the docks to meet the rest of his team, they were waiting on the sidewalk looking frazzled and over tired.

"You guys look like shit"

"Shut up will you and help carry Hanna's stuff" Dundra said dropping several bags on the floor.

"Why did she pack so much?"

"Because she's a girl"

"Good point" he hefted two of the bags onto his back as Dundra grabbed three more.

"Dundra be careful, you'll ruin my shoes"

"Fuck your shoes, next time pack less or I'm going to throw it over board next time"

Hanna smiled and winked.

"Hanna, he's right you do over pack you know"

"Lina, I thought you'd be on my side!"

"You know I'll happily go shopping with you but come on, 6 suitcases for a 3 day trip, it seems a bit much" Eddi nodded, she had only brought a single suitcase and her weapons cases.

Hanna pouted and folded her arms. She picked up a couple of her bags and walked after them. It took almost half an hour to get back to the hotel where they'd be staying. Once they had settled in to their rooms they gathered in the foyer and went back to the store.

Shayne had his friends wait outside while he went in carrying the case that the thieves had taken.

"Aaah, I was starting to get worried, I see you got my case back, did they give you any trouble?"

"No not really"

"Good, anyway here's your reward for getting it back" she handed him 200 Lien; he put it securely in his inside breast pocket with the rings.

"Where's Ellice?"

"Oh she's in the back, come on through" he followed her through to the back of the store Ellice was sat on a couch.

"Now that I have case back I can mix your paint for you Ellice"

"Thanks Selena" Ellice smiles

Shayne went and stood by the wall, admiring the painting that hung there.

"That's one of mine, she said I could pay for some paint with a painting so I did this for her" Ellice said walking over to him.

"It's really good Ellice, my team is outside with Lina by the way"

"Oh do you want me to fetch them in?"

"No I have to talk to Selena first"

"Talk to me about what?"

"He needs to tell you something in private, so I'm just going to wait outside" Ellice left and went to talk to Shayne's team mates.

"Well, what is it" Shayne lowered his hood and removed his bandanna, he shook his head and smoothed out his ears, drawing attention to them.

Selena looked at his ears and her eye narrowed, she hadn't met many other Faunus while staying in Mistral, she thought she recognised the colour but she pushed the thoughts out of her mind as he turned around.

Shayne had tears in his eyes and was wringing his bandanna in his hands.

"Why did you leave" he said it so quietly that even with her advanced hearing she could barely make out he had said anything.

"Sorry? You'll have to speak up"

"I said why did you leave?" he said louder than before.

"I haven't left anything in…"

"Almost twenty years"

She covered her mouth with her hands and sat down on the sofa.

"Shayne, I can't believe it, you're here, and you're alive…."

"I'm here to find out why you left" Shayne said his face had returned to normal as he put his bandanna back on

"I left because your father and I left to go fight in the war…"

"I know that but why didn't you try to get back in touch with me"

"After I got out of prison I didn't know if you were alive or not, so I didn't risk the heartbreak of finding out you were"

"you could have at least sent a letter"

"Don't you think I wanted to, I knew that because I hadn't come back your grandparents would have just destroyed the letters"

"Then why did they keep the one that brought me here" Shayne threw the letter onto the table

"Because in the letter I sent them I asked them not to in memory of your father…" the room fell silent at his mention.

"That's all I wanted to know" he began to move towards the door when she stood up.

"Shayne…can you forgive me"

He turned and walked towards her, he stopped mere inches from her.

"I already have…" they shared an embrace; Shayne messaged Dundra with one hand to get them to come in.

When she heard the bell of the door, she released him and smoothed out her apron before walking out with a smile; Shayne followed her and leant against the door frame.

"Yes, can I help you?"

"We're with Shayne"

"All of you?"

"Yes, they're my team, and this is Lina, my girlfriend" he said walking up to her and kissing her.

"Hang on, what do you mean team Shayne?"

"I'm attending Beacon now"

"Wow, though I can't say I'm really surprised, why don't you all come on into the back and have a sit down" Hanna jumped at the chance to sit down, she didn't like all the standing and waiting that they'd just done.

They walked into the back and sat around the room, they sat talking for several hours about recent events and the past. They eventually left at 11:30, but not before Shayne had one last chat with his mother.

"I'm going to come back tomorrow and help you out with anything you need"

"Shayne you don't have to do that…"

"I know but I want to"

"Okay then, in fact I could use you tomorrow as I have a couple of men coming to pick up some things and I'd like someone here to make sure nothing happens"

"Okay, if you want I can have Dundra come as well"

"No you'll do just fine, now go on your friends are waiting for you, I'll see you tomorrow"

Shayne caught them up and they headed back to the hotel.

* * *

A pair of yellow eyes tracked them through the darkness, it was almost time for his vengeance, he just needed a way to draw Shayne away from the others. Rose and her new found ally watched from a nearby bench.

"Why are we just sitting here, we could take him out now and be done with it"

"He has allies now, we must meet with my employers and discuss this" he stood up and walked away, she huffed and followed after him.

* * *

Shayne had to meditate to calm his nerves before morning.

He had been meditating for 3 hours when something stirred him from his trance. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room. Dundra was asleep and the girls were next door. He stood up and opened the door adjoining the two rooms, they were all asleep. He knew he had heard something so he donned his jacket and took one of his swords and stepped outside. He noticed a white cloak disappear around the corner at the end of the hall way, Shayne rested his hand on the handle of his blade and quickly crept to the corner only to see a fire escape swing closed. Shayne was determined to find out what was going on so he ran up the flight of stairs outside the door heading towards the roof.

When he arrived on the roof the white cloaked figure had stopped in the dead centre, his cloak blowing in the wind. Shayne slowly made his way further onto the roof, as he drew closer the figure turned. Shayne recognised him instantly.

"Kameron!"

"Shayne" he snarled.

"I haven't seen you in…"

"About eight years, when you killed my family"

"I killed no-one"

"Liar! You killed them and I know you did"

"Kam I tried explaining all those years ago, I'm not doing it again" Shayne gripped his blade as Kameron leant forward.

*cough* "I hate to break up such a touching moment but my boss wants you dead Shayne" Kameron turned at the sudden appearance of a shaven headed male.

"He's mine, butt out" Kameron snarled

"I'm not dying tonight" Shayne said addressing both of them as he drew his katana.

"Shayne, I wouldn't do that if I were you" he turned at her voice

"Rose what are you doing here!"

She dropped from her perch on the ventilation duct, and sauntered over to him.

"I'm here because you hurt me when you left me alone"

"I told you why I couldn't stay"

"But I love you Shayne"

"I'm sorry but I'm in love with my girlfriend"

Rose began to cry; she shook her head and walked to the stairs.

"Where are you going bitch, you're part of this"

"You're right Cross, I am" she charged at the man and tackled him to the floor.

"Shayne run, he's too strong…" he snapped her neck and she fell lifeless to the floor.

The male got to his feet and dusted himself off.

"This is why I work alone"

Kameron and Shayne looked at him, Shayne wanted to kill him now, she didn't deserve to die. Shayne strode forwards past Kameron. Kameron not wanting this random guy to kill Shayne charged as Shayne drew close.

Shayne ducked under Kameron's sword and dodged backwards as Cross swung his hatchet at him, Kameron collided with Cross and proceeded to tackle him of the edge of the building. He heard them crash into something but he couldn't see them when he looked over the edge of the building.

He returned to his team, ensuring that they were all okay, he didn't sleep or meditate, he sat and watched the sun rise. At around nine he went for a shower and got dressed. He called the police after breakfast giving them an anonymous tip about Rose's corpse on the roof. He had relieved her of her weapon and had decided to keep it in her memory.


	30. Chapter 29

Shayne told his team that he would find them later as he had things to do, Lina insisted on coming with him as did Ellice, Shayne knew better to argue with Lina so he let them come with him, Hanna Dundra and Eddi went into town to locate something that Eddi wanted.

They arrived at Shayne's mothers store at 11:30 am and when they walked in she was sat at the counter, she hid it well but Shayne knew she was upset about something. She looked up at the bell and quickly wiped her eyes as she saw them.

"I thought you'd be coming alone Shayne"

"So did I but they insisted on coming"

"So where are the others today?"

"They went to do something that Eddi needs to do"

"Okay then, Ellice can you go with Lina and make sure my kids are ready for school"

"Sure, c'mon Lina"Lina nodded and followed Ellice upstairs

Once Selena was sure that they were out of earshot she beckoned Shayne closer.

"Shayne, I told you about the men coming later, well they called just before you arrived and they moved up when they are coming to half one, and they seem to think I have security now, so they're bringing more than just the two, I'm not sure you'll be as useful as I thought"

"I know that Lina can handle herself in a fight…"

"Shayne that's not the point, I'm having trouble even having you here, let alone her and Ellice"

"I have an idea but it will take some time…"

"What is it; I may be able to help"

"I need a large open space and a large Dust crystal"

"Well I have a small warehouse out back and there's a Dust shop around the corner, if that's any help"

"It is, I'll be back soon"

Shayne left and quickly found the store, he was browsing the glass cases when a commotion was heard from the front desk, Shayne peered around the corner at the clerk, he was being held at gunpoint. Shayne counted two men at the counter and another keeping the other clientele quiet. Shayne made his way to the counter, nobody was looking at him. He was about to take one in a strangle hold when he was hit from behind, Shayne stumbled into the one holding the gun and it went sliding across the room.

He turned to find another of the thieves righting himself after hitting Shayne. Shayne straightened up and ducked an incoming punch, sending a jab to another of the thieves, by now the one who had been keeping the other patrons quiet had heard the commotion and had joined the fray. Shayne dodged punches and blocked kicks, delivering his own when he could. He was taken into a choke hold and was suffocated until he dropped to his knees pulling the thief over his shoulder and punching him in the face, knocking him unconscious. Shayne couldn't celebrate as he was hauled to his feet before being thrown through one of the glass cases; he felt a large shard of glass pierce his thigh as he rolled backwards off the Dust. The thieves advanced on him again as he removed the glass from his leg, he had just pulled it free when he was kicked in the face, he blinked the pain from his face as his nose was broken.

'Why am I taking such a beating today?' he thought as he was hauled to his feet again.

He looked one of the thieves in the eye and saw the familiar red glow of the Grimm. He felt around in his pocket for a weapon or something he could use, he closed his fingers around Rose's claw. His fingers slipped into the holes of the hand plate and as he squeezed claws shot out from the plate metal on the back of his hand, going straight through the arm of the guy holding Shayne.

Shayne pulled the claw free and turned to the last two thieves, they were clearly nervous but if they ran Shayne wouldn't hesitate to chase, so instead the rushed him at the same time. Shayne caught the arm of one and swung him into the other, they careened across the room before coming to rest unconscious against the wall. Shayne staggered forwards and the claw felt to pieces in his hand, he dropped to his knees as the clerk made his way gingerly over to him.

"Hey kid, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, just give me a minute"Shayne said, grimacing as the gash in his leg was being healed.

The police arrived moments later and began cuffing the thieves. Shayne stood up as they were escorted from the building. He approached the counter holding a particularly large crystal from the case he had been thrown through.

"I'd like to purchase this crystal but it needs to be cut to specific dimensions"

"Well, what dimensions do you need?"

Shayne handed him a scrap a paper with the dimensions scrawled on it, the clerk disappeared out to the back room as the police dealt with the other people in the store, and Shayne heard the grinding of metal through Dust. The clerk came back a few moments later the crystal already wrapped in a paper bag.

"Thanks how much do I owe you?"

"Nothing at all, you saved both my store and my life today, take it as a gift" Shayne smiled and walked out ignoring the reporters completely.

He arrived back at his mother's store and Lina ran straight up to him and kissed him. When she eventually let him go his mother was smirking.

"Is the warehouse ready?"

"Well its empty if that's what you mean" Shayne nodded and walked out, leaving Lina with his mother.

He walked over to the large delivery door and slid it open, a gust of fresh mid-morning air wafted in. he strode over to the center of the room and put the crystal on the ground. He knelt down facing both it and the open doorway; he closed his eyes and waited.

* * *

"Dundra we need to talk"

"What about?"

"Where is this relationship going?"

"What do you mean?"

"I think we should break up dammit!" Dundra stopped, he stood speechless.

"Dundra…are you okay?" He turned at the new voice.

"Nelwyn? What are you doing here in Mistral?"

"I'm having an unofficial vacation, what about you guys?"

"We're here as a team but Shayne and Lina are helping his mom and Hanna is somewhere around"

"Okay, Dundra you look upset, is something wrong?"

"No…everything is fine"

"Dundra we need to talk about this"

"Eddi, there's nothing to talk about, you've made up your mind"

"I'm not sure that this is the best place to be talking about this guys"

"You're right Nelwyn, Dundra lets go back to the hotel and talk about this"

"No, I said there's nothing to talk about" he stormed off

"Dundra! Wait…!"

He didn't stop, Nelwyn put her arm around Eddi and they walked back to the hotel.

* * *

A dark shadow passed by one of the warehouse windows, and Nemea walked in through the large door. Shayne opened his eyes as he approached.

"Nemea, I haven't had to call you for some time, how are things in the forest"

'Nothing new, but right now we are being watched' Nemea looked to Ellice and she yelped involuntarily. Shayne looked over and stood up.

"Sh-Shayne…we should probably run"

"Don't worry about him, he won't hurt you" he held out his hand, she took it gingerly.

Shayne led her to where he had been knelt, and sat her down next to him, keeping his hand in hers, a deep voice echoed in Ellice's mind.

'Greetings Ellice, you fear me, do not be afraid child I mean you no harm' Ellice was shaking slightly.

"Nemea, I require some assistance from you"

'You know that I am glad to help, what is it that you need'

"I want to channel some of my Grimm into this crystal" Nemea nodded and Shayne focused on the crystal before him. It rose about an inch above the ground and remained there as Grimm leapt from Shayne's arm into the Crystal turning it black as night, tendrils of darkness spilled from its edges. Nemea snarled and the flow of Grimm from Shayne's arm slowed an eventually ceased. He flexed his hand as the Grimm settled once more, the crystal now floated of its own accord. Shayne inhaled deeply and blinked repeatedly, his eyes had dried out while transferring the Grimm.

Shayne moved his hand under the crystal and it moved with his hand, floating an inch above it at all times. He stood up but Ellice remained seated, she looked quizzically at Nemea. He roared quietly and she panicked, she ran to Shayne as he neared the door.

"Ellice, I told you he's harmless"

"That doesn't make him any less terrifying" Shayne smiled and patted her hand.

He sat down at the table in the back room of the store and put the crystal on the table. He held up his left hand and he projected his mind into the crystal, he formed the Grimm into a physical shape that could be projected from the crystal, he chose the one thing that came naturally, a wolf. He formed it around the residual Auras that sat in the area, picking out his mother's Aura as well as her families; he also added his team, Ellice and Lina. He removed himself from the crystal and awoke to find his mother stood over him trying to wake him.

"Shayne, thank goodness you're okay"

"I told you he'd be fine Selena; he often zones out like that and comes out of it within minutes, so we don't worry about it anymore"

"Mom, if I told you to name a pet what would you call it?"

"I'd probably call it what I'd call my next son, if I was going to have one"

"Which is?"

"I'd call it Blaine"

Shayne smiled and stared into the crystal again, his eyes glazed over and Selena's brow furrowed again. After a few moments Shayne blinked and grabbed the crystal, allowing it to settle above his hand before speaking.

"Now call Blaine"

"But none of us are called Blaine"

"Selena, just indulge him I think I know where this is going" Lina said folding her arms

"Oh all right….Blaine!"

The word barely left her mouth and the crystal became perfectly still and emitted a low hum as the tendrils of Grimm thickened and began to pool on the floor. The pool became about 3 feet in diameter and was perfectly circular; it boiled as a shape began to rise from it. A wolf, about 5 feet long and 3 feet high now stood in the middle of the circle, pitch black with a bone white face, its eyes glowed red.

"Sh-Shayne what is that thing" his mom said nervously while slowly backing away from the large Grimm.

"Now don't panic, but it's a Grimm, I made it to help you stay safe"

"How did you make a Grimm Shayne" Ellice asked confused herself.

He held out his left arm and the tattoos writhed as if on cue.

"Shayne, when did you get that done?"

"Well I didn't get it done more, it just happened over night and I woke up with it, it's been my curse for almost seven years now" he flexed his hand.

The large wolf padded over to Selena and licked her hand before sitting next to her.

"Shayne, I'm not sure about this, so it's friendly with me and you, but what about my kids and my husband…."

"I've tuned it not to harm any of you using the residual Auras that I could sense in the area" she gave him a look of scepticism.

"Well, isn't it almost time for those guys to get here?" Selena looked at the clock and she grimaced. She nodded and turned to Ellice.

"Could you go look after my kids upstairs please" Ellice nodded

"Lina, you should go too, just in case"

"But Shayne…"

"No buts just go" Lina pouted and folded her arms tightly before going up the stairs after Ellice.

About a minute later the door opened ringing the bell. Blaine's head raised as Selena walked through to the front accompanied by Shayne.

"Selena, it's that time again"

"Yes gentlemen, I know but I don't think you know my son, Shayne" he nodded at them from the doorway.

"Enough of this, give us what we came for or I'm gonna be forced to do something ill regret" the larger of the two men said drawing a machete from his belt.

Shayne was behind him in a split second, with a knife to his throat.

"Or ill do something you'll regret, put the machete away, now" the man slowly sheathed the blade and brought his hands released him and stepped away.

"Good, now let's conduct this properly" he looked to his mother who pulled out a black case.

"I want 50%"

"No, you get 35%" Blaine padded into the room, their eyes were drawn to the animal and the small man gulped slightly.

"Okay 45% percent, that's all we can offer"

"It'll do, for now" money exchanged hands and the men went on their way.

"Shayne I can't thank you enough for that, last time I got almost nothing now at least my family can have some nice things"

"I don't want any more part of this, Blaine is yours but when I leave I may not be back for a long time" She nodded as Lina and Ellice walked in.

"They're fine Selena they were watching TV"

"Good you guys are free to go now if you want; it's about time I closed up anyway" She walked to the door, turned the sign to closed and locked the door. Shayne looked at Lina and Ellice.

"So what do you wanna do now?"

Before either of them could answer Shayne's Scroll went off. It was a message from Dundra.

'We have your friend, come to the docks at midnight if you want him back alive'

Shayne looked grim, Lina looked at the message and they left without another word.


	31. Chapter 30

Shayne and Lina left Ellice with Selena and went back to the hotel to find Eddi and Hanna panicking.

"Guys what's going on?"

"Shayne thank god you're back, Dundra's gone missing"

"I know, I got this sent to me" he said handing Eddi his Scroll, she looked it over and her face hardened.

"Eddi, calm down, we have a few hours to prepare"

*sigh*"I guess you're right, so, what's your plan"

Shayne explained that he, Hanna and Lina would go to get Dundra while Eddi kept watch from afar with her sniper rifle, Eddi liked this plan as if she was there she wouldn't be able to contain herself. They set about making sure that all their gear was clean and up to scratch and then they waited.

Shayne stared out of the window for several hours; he watched the sun set and the moon rise. At 10:15 he got another message detailing exactly where the meeting would take place. Eddi packed up the rifle and climbed out the window as Shayne pointed out where they would be and where it would be best for her to take up position.

At 11:30 Shayne and the others left the room and headed for the docks.

* * *

Eddi sat on the roof top piecing together her rifle, the wind whistled through the grates of the ventilation system. Eddi cocked her head as she heard the sound of feet on gravel she turned in an instant, pulling a Skorpion micro SMG from her thigh, and aiming it straight at the stranger's face.

"Whoa, calm down Ed, it's only me" it was dark and Eddi couldn't quite see who it was. She calmed as an emerald green fireball ignited in front of her, illuminating both of them. The man stood in front of her wearing a green t-shirt and dark-green cargo pants with a crossbow strapped to his back. His brown hair hair shifted in the breeze and he looked happy as he held the fireball in his palm. The midnight cold seemed to have no effect on him.

"Ralen, what are you doing here?"

"We, are here just taking some time out, where are the other guys in your team?"

"Were running an op, Dundra's in trouble, where's the rest of your team?"

"Here" Silver said walking up behind Ralen, Lance and Jiang joined them moments later. Silver was a white tiger Faunus whose white hair went down to her shoulders. She wore Ralen's trench coat and it covered the majority of her body. Only her tight leather jeans poked out the bottom.

Jiang was a beautiful Chinese girl who wore an amber Cheongsam and had an amber coloured coat over her torso. Lance trailed her, wearing a white and indigo coloured suit. His indigo sniper rifle glinted in the green light.

"You know, I always get confused between you and Lance from FLLN" Eddi remarked.

"How? He's a gigantic man who hardly ever talks and I'm me. Only thing we share is our names."

"So what's going on Eddi?" Jiang asked.

"Dundra has been taken hostage and Shayne, Hanna and Lina are going to get him while I run over watch" Eddi's radio buzzed into life.

'Eddi are you all set there?'

"Yes Shayne I'm all good, AGIS is here too"

'Put Jiang on' Eddi handed her the earpiece

"Shayne anything we can do to help?"

'Get Lance to stay up there with Ed, and make your way down to us, I'll fill you in when you get here' Jiang handed back the earpiece to Eddi.

"Lance, you're here with Ed, the rest of us are going to go down there and help the others out"

"You sure you don't need my skills in there? There will most likely be a few enemies."

"Shayne is running this op and we're just going to listen to his plan. You and Eddi sniping will definitely give us an advantage"

"Yeah, don't worry man. I'm sure someone will be stupid enough to get in your sights" Ralen said to his friend.

Lance shouldered his rifle and took up position next to Eddi as she told the others where they were waiting, it was 11:45, there wasn't much time to get there.

* * *

Shayne waited a few minutes until AGIS arrived.

"Silver, good to see you as usual" she smiled at Hanna

"Shayne what do you need us to do?" Jiang asked abruptly

"Straight to business then, I want you and Silver out here to cover our escape, Ralen can you get into the rafters and just watch for any treachery?"

"Of course I can."

"Good, if something goes wrong I want you to get Dundra out of there"

Shayne was jumped on from behind, instinctively he threw his attacker down the alley, she landed in a crouch and stood up smiling, her pink hair blowing in the wind.

"Goddamn it Nelwyn, why must you do that"

"Because it's fun"

"Well since you're here you might as well help too"

"Why, what are you doing?"

"We're saving Dundra" Lina said flexing her gauntlet.

Nelwyn became deadly serious and she decided to go in with them, Shayne didn't argue because it was pointless arguing with her. Shayne's Scroll beeped midnight and he turned to watch a large door open on a warehouse.

'Sniper team ready, you ready Shayne?'

"Let's get this over with"

Ralen set off at a run towards the building scaling it with ease and getting in through a window. Silver and Jiang waited in the shadows opposite to the warehouse.

Shayne, Nelwyn, Lina and Hanna walked into the ware house, it was dark, but Shayne and Lina could clearly see Dundra tied to a chair. Hanna and Nelwyn made sure that the door wouldn't close behind them by moving a crate under it. When they re-joined Shayne and Lina a single light turned on illuminating Dundra, his armour shone in the night. At least thirty men stepped out of the shadows.

"Hello again Shayne" Shayne gritted his teeth

"I killed you weeks ago, how are you still alive Adam!"

"Yes that wound should have killed me but it didn't so here I am"

"What do want with us?" Hanna asked

"Not you, just him" Adam said gesturing at Shayne.

The various men drew their weapons, Shayne and his friends readied theirs. Ralen made ready to get Dundra out.

All hell broke loose as a skylight came crashing down, and a hooded figure landed taking out two of the White Fang. Shayne recognised him instantly, but didn't have time to react as members of the White Fang came at them, Shayne carved a path towards Dundra, cutting down anyone in his path, his katanas flashed, and blood sprayed everywhere.

Jiang and Silver heard the skylight crash to the floor and the sound of metal on metal as a fight raged on inside. Eddi and Lance couldn't see what was going on, Eddi cursed and stood up. Lance kept his eye trained on the building.

Ralen sprinted across the rafters getting ever closer to Dundra, once he was directly above him, the skylight came crashing down around him. He watched the hooded figure kill two men before drawing a small hand axe, not dis-similar to Shayne's, and began to decimate the men below. Using the confusion he dropped to the floor, freed Dundra and helped him out of a side door, stopping only to get Dundra's weapons.

Jiang and Silver couldn't wait any longer; they ran at the door as Ralen helped Dundra away from the warehouse back to where they had been. By the time that the girls made it in, all the men were dead and it was just Shayne, Adam and the hooded figure stood in the center of the room.

Silver and Jiang stood by Hanna and Lina as the three men squared off. Standing completely still as the wind wound its way through the stacks of crates. A single shot pierced the air; it sailed past Shayne's head and lodged in Adam's chest. In the split second it hit, Shayne whipped around and threw his knife at the hooded figure and severed Adam's head from his shoulders. The hooded figure dodged and leapt at Shayne, Nelwyn intercepted him with a running kick and sent him sprawling across the floor.

Lance reloaded his rifle.

* * *

Selena got a knock on the door, even though it was midnight she thought it was Shayne she answered the door.

A single shot sounded in the night.

* * *

Shayne strode over to the hooded figure, and pinned him to the floor with his sword.

"Kameron, I'm giving you this one last chance, leave me alone or ill be forced to end you" a single drop of blood hung on the tip of the blade in Shayne's hand.

"Shayne, you killed my family I will never forgive you for that"

"Then don't, just get outta my life"

"Kam, why must you pursue this, it's been years" all heads turned to Nelwyn

"Because he is responsible for it"

"I tried telling you I didn't kill them before and you wouldn't listen, so I'm done" Shayne whipped his sword away sending the single drop of blood flying across the room.

Shayne strode away, he retrieved his knife and left, Hanna, Lina, Silver and Jiang at his heels.

"Nel, I'm going to kill him"

"No Kam, you're not, he's my friend and no matter how long we've been friends I won't let you do that" Nelwyn flourished her Glaive.

"I never could beat you"

"Now leave him be, let's talk"

* * *

Shayne walked over to where Dundra and Ralen were, he and the others arrived as Lance and Eddi dropped down off a roof-top.

"Dundra are you okay?"

"Shayne, we need to get back to your mums place, now"

"Why what's going on?"

"No time to explain, we need to hurry" Dundra shouldered his gear and ran off.

The others had to sprint to keep up with him, it took a few minute but they eventually got there. Shayne saw that the door was open and the police tape the crossed the door brought him to tears.

"We're too late, I'm so sorry Shayne" Dundra said breaking the tape. The group went inside with Dundra helping Shayne in, the police had only covered the bodies. Shayne didn't want to look but he had to be sure. He knelt down and pulled the cloth down. It was his mother; a single bullet had torn through her brain, killing her instantly. He didn't want to look at the other bodies as they were a lot smaller so he knew who they were.

Shayne stood up tears running down his face.

"I want you all to leave; I'll be along in a moment…."

His friends did as he asked.

He stood in the center of the room, he screamed as Grimm flew off of him in waves, destroying all evidence that his mother even existed, save for a small necklace. Shayne picked up the Crystal that floated on the shelf, the Grimm poured from him into it, it glowed black and he pocketed it.

"Blaine, come…" the dark wolf appeared at his side and followed him into the night.

As Shayne was leaving, he noticed something on the wall opposite the door. Shayne recognised the symbol; the bald guy from the rooftop had it tattooed onto his face. Shayne felt the rage build inside him and he punched the symbol and the bricks crumbled to dust on impact. Shayne caught up with the others and they headed back to the hotel.

* * *

AGIS had returned to where they were staying and SHDE assembled in one of the rooms with Ellice, who had left Shayne's moms store at around 11 so she had evaded the same fate as his mother.

Shayne stared out the window.

"Dundra, who did this…."

"Some guy called Cross"

"Did he have this symbol on his face" Shayne tossed a scrap of paper to him

"I don't know, I never saw his face"

Shayne punched the wall.

"Dammit! Who is this guy"

"None of my contacts know anything about him" Eddi said putting her Scroll down

"Neither do mine" Hanna added

"Fuck, when I next see this guy I'm gonna kill the son of a bitch"

"Shayne calm down"

"No Lina I can't calm down" Shayne threw his knife at the door; Dundra caught it and strode over to Shayne and hit him.

"Calm down or I'm going to have to put you on your ass" Shayne nursed his jaw and stood up slowly.

*sigh* "Thanks I needed that"

There was a knock at the door, Hanna answered it promptly. It was AGIS.

"Oh hey guys, what are you doing here?"

"We thought we'd come and check on Shayne" Silver looked at her fellow Faunus

"I'm fine guys, really I am"

"You don't look it" Jiang said taking note of his bloody lip and his red eyes.

"Shayne c'mon lets go have a drink" Lance said gesturing to him.

"With pleasure" Shayne walked past them and headed for the elevator.

* * *

Back in Vale a man with a shaven head and a tattooed face walked into a warehouse.

"So it's done then"

"Yes it's done; you will have what you want soon enough"

"Good, she will be pleased"

A case was placed on the table

"And the loose ends?"

"All neatly tied up for you, he dealt with that himself"

"Good, your bonus is waiting for you at your safe house"

"Goodbye Roman"

"Goodbye Cross, pleasure doing business with you"

He took the case and walked away, dispatching the assassins without blinking.

The door slammed shut behind him.

'Now that I'm not under contract, it's time for you to die, Shayne Oceanstrider'

**Big S/O to GuyFromPandora for letting me use his team, AGIS, if you want to see more of them go check out his story, Remnants shield, he could use the support of all you lovely people who keep reading, don't know what I'd do without you. other than that i dont have much really to say. Oh, if you feel like there is something that you think could be changed dont hesitate to leave a review, as some reader input would be appreciated.**

**as always, thanks so much fore reading this, peace.**

**-TheWolfbane987**


	32. Chapter 31

SHDE and AGIS traveled back to Vale together, Shayne and Lance were spending time just trying to get Shayne out of his rage filled depression, mostly by drinking but also by sparring as needed. Shayne was good, but in this state a baby could beat him if they tried.

Lina was trying her best to calm him down but he wouldn't let her get close to him, she sat up crying all night. Hanna and Silver tried their best to calm her down but when Lina did finally fall asleep they felt awkward so Hanna broke the silence.

"Silver, why is there so much tension between us?"

"Umm…err…"

"What, is it because I'm gay?"

"Sort of…"

"Well just tell me what's bothering you"

"It's hard to explain, so I'll just show you instead" silver took Hanna's head in her hands and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Uhm…err…uh…oh" Hanna stammered but no words escaped her mouth.

"I know you're with Yang but I just can't help it"

"I-I'm glad you d-did to be honest, m-me and Yang have been going through s-some rough patches recently and I think she's going to break up with me as it is" Hanna stuttered as Silver rested her hands on her thigh.

Silver smiled and got up, winking as she closed the door, Hanna felt herself blush in the darkness.

* * *

Dundra and Eddi had finally got over the fact that they had broken up and they were talking like adults now, Nelwyn didn't like it so she decided to liven it up.

"Dundra, I hope that this won't interfere with the team"

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see"

"You know what I think?" Nelwyn interjected

"No Nelwyn, what do you think"

"I think that you two should do it one last time, for old times' sake"

"No, Nelwyn that wouldn't be a good idea" Eddi said rubbing her temples

"Why not, I did it with all my exes and I haven't seen any of them in years"

"Didn't you use to date that guy from the warehouse?"

"What Kam, shit I guess you're right, well ignore me"

"Nelwyn are you bored?" Eddi asked annoyed

"God yes"

"Why don't you go see Kam, he's on the top deck"

"WHAT! Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I wanted to make sure you still liked him"

"Goddamn you Eddi"

Nelwyn stormed out, barely missing Jiang.

"What's up with Nelwyn?"

"Oh nothing, what can we do for you Jiang"

"Oh I was wondering if you guys had seen Lance and Shayne anywhere."

"Last time I saw them they were in the bar, if they aren't there try the sparring ring in the cargo decks"

"Okay thanks Ed, I hope you two work whatever it is you are worried about out, bye" she said before leaving.

"How the fuck…"

"I don't know, maybe she's like Shayne"

"Dundra she's clearly not a Faunus"

"No I mean she can read people"

"Oh, that makes sense"

* * *

Jiang checked the bar but the barman said he hadn't seen them, so she made her way down to the lower decks. She was walking among the crates trying to find the supposed sparring arena when she was jumped from behind.

"Hey there little missy, this ain't a place for girls like you" a rough voice said as his arms wrapped around her throat.

Jiang struggled but it was useless.

Shayne and Lance turned a corner and saw the large male grab her, Shayne stopped Lance and dragged him behind a crate.

"Lance, we have to do this properly or she'll die, I'll go in first you get up high, we just want to get her out of there" Lance nodded, he was angry but he still listened to reason.

Shayne walked around the corner and coughed. The large man turned his head.

"I suggest you let her go"

"And what are you going to do about it" two more men appeared behind Shayne grinning evilly

"Me, I'm going to deal with these two and you're going to let her go"

"Yeah, you and what army"

"Who said I needed an army"

Shayne ducked under of the men's arms and punched him straight in the gut. Lance used the confusion he was generating to teleport behind the one holding Jiang. He was about to strike when Jiang did a back kick to the guys groin and flipped out of his grasp. She stumbled into Lance as she landed. Shayne was taking a beating as the guy slowly got to his feet.

"Lance, Jiang, run!"

Lance hesitated and thought about arguing but grabbed her hand and ran off between two of the crates. The largest guy took off after them.

Shayne was getting sick of this; he ducked a punch and kneed the guy in the elbow, breaking the arm at the joint before stepping up on his knee and kicking him in the face. He toppled like a ton of bricks. Shayne turned his attention to the remaining guy, who panicked and drew a long, vicious looking knife. Shayne stepped aside as he thrust forward and ducked the side slash that came after it. He wasn't expecting the follow up punch after it though, it struck him square in the face and he staggered backwards, the knife pierced his gut and he inhaled sharply.

Shayne grabbed the guy's wrist and snapped it in his hands, the bone broke the skin. He screamed until Shayne kneed him in the head, knocking him unconscious. Shayne took off as fast as he could to try and catch up to Lance and Jiang.

* * *

They were running out of breath so they hid around a dark corner. They could hear him coming closer. They held their breaths as he drew up to the corner.

"Hey asshole!" the man turned to face Shayne, the knife still stuck in his gut.

"Where'd your friends go kid, and I see my man did his job, I'm surprised that you're still breathing though"

"I don't know where they went but, ughn, attempted rape isn't gonna go down well with the authorities"

"Well, you worked me out then, you're a smart kid so I'm gonna make you a deal, turn around and forget this ever happened and I won't kill you"

"I'm smart enough to know that you couldn't kill me, so give it your best shot" Shayne spat blood and beckoned him closer.

The man rose to the challenge and walked towards Shayne.

"Jiang, stay here, I'm going to help Shayne" Lance whispered, Jiang reluctantly let go.

The guy had drawn a similar knife to the one in Shayne's gut and was tossing it between his hands as he advanced. Lance used what Shayne had told him and waited, the guy raised his arm to strike Shayne down and Lance leapt up and hauled it backwards, wrapping his legs around the shoulder. As they fell Shayne jumped up and stomped the guy's head into the ground, knocking him out.

Lance helped Shayne to where Jiang was.

"Shayne, you're hurt"

"No shit…ughn" Shayne pulled the blade from his gut and placed his left hand over the wound

"Shayne let us help you"

"No, I need to do this alone"

The Grimm leapt from his arm to his stomach and sealed the wound before their eyes. Shayne exhaled in relief as the pain subsided.

"Goddamn Shayne, that was impressive"

"Nothing to it really" Shayne looked at Jiang and smiled knowingly

"Am I missing something?"

"No it's just something I remembered; c'mon we're almost back at Vale"

Shayne hopped to his feet and waked away shortly followed by Jiang.

"What the fuck just happened?" Lance said to himself before walking after them.

* * *

Ralen was sat in his teams Cabin on the ship.

He looked over the strange Crystal he had been given earlier that day. Ralen's mind flashed back to the conversation.

* * *

_'Can you forge me something to carry this with, it's too big for my pockets'_

_'I don't think I can, it seems unstable'_

_'Don't worry about that, can you do it or not?'_

_'Yeah, I guess I could take a look, any particular place you want it mounting?'_

_A jacket was slung onto the table._

_'Can you make it so I can remove it and put it onto each of my jackets?"_

_'Um, that's more of a tailor's job'_

_'But I can't take this to a tailor as they wouldn't know where to start'_

_*sigh*'Fine ill see what I can do, leave the jacket'_

_'I'll be back later Ralen'_

_'Yeah…see you Shayne'_

* * *

Ralen tinkered with a small, metal contraption and did a rushed stitching job to see how it would sit on Shayne's jacket, he didn't want it to clash with the design, and Shayne had made that clear in a note inside the jacket.

He had just finished securing it when the door opened. Ralen turned his head and found Shayne standing right behind him.

"Jesus Christ Shayne, you damn near gave me a heart attack"

Shayne stepped back smiling.

"Sorry Ralen, so what've you got?"

"Hang on, what happened to you?" Ralen asked noticing the blood-stains on his shirt.

"Oh, just a small knife fight below decks, no biggie"

"Alright then" Ralen looked him in the eyes but Shayne just flashed red at him. "What I've got is this"

Ralen slung the jacket over Shayne's shoulders and turned him to a full length mirror. The small contraption held the Crystal in a vice like grip on Shayne right arm, just under the shoulder. Shayne leaned in closer for a better look, the Crystal pulsed with energy and the stitching gave way.

"Aw fuck"

"Don't worry, if you can just put it back on I can make sure it never comes off later, how many of these mounts have you got?"

"I have to make them by hand, so it's a one of a kind right now"

"Lucky I only have two jackets then huh" the pair shared a smile.

Shayne pocketed the crystal and handed the device to Ralen. A bell sounded signalling that they had arrived back at Vale.

The two teams reconvened on the top deck, Shayne had just decided to bin his shirt and just wear his jacket over his bare skin, it was spring anyway.

Kameron and Nelwyn were talking on the starboard side, and AGIS and SHDE stood on the port side trying to work out what they were talking about. Shayne and Lina were holding hands, but he had his eyes closed, he was ignoring the noise trying to hone in on them.

"Kam, what happened to you, you used to be so much fun?"

"I grew up Nelwyn, like your sister did"

"You both suck; you're both boring and serious now"

"I'm not boring though" he swished his tail.

"I've never worked out what Faunus you are" Kameron chuckled

"I'm a Komodo Faunus, long tail, sharp claws and teeth, and most obvious of all, my skin"

"I was never one for biology"

"Neither was I, Nel…?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you…"

The ships horn prevented Shayne form hearing what had been said, but he could see it quite clearly, Nelwyn and Kameron were locked in an embrace and they were kissing.

"Well, that's…interesting"

"Dundra shut up and grab some of Hanna's fucking bags" Dundra groaned at Eddi's words

"Shayne, we're here"

"I know Lina, come on, I need some sleep" he shouldered both their bags and followed Eddi and Dundra down the gangplank. AGIS and Hanna waited for Nelwyn and Kameron before following suit.

When they all reached the bottom they walked to the Bullhead depot to get to Beacon. Even though it was midday on a Monday there, there were almost no people on the streets, those that were there walked quickly as if in a hurry. Shayne was disturbed by this and slowed down to talk to Jiang.

"Does this seem as weird to you as it does to me"

"What, you mean the silence and the lack of people"

"Yeah, these streets are usually buzzing with people, whats going on"

"Well, there are a couple of people coming this way, lets ask them" Shayne gazed at where she was pointing, it was Vossler and Ashe. Shayne jogged up to them.

"Shayne, thank fuck your back, shit has been going down for the last 24 hours, first the White Fang kicked off at a protest in the park then some Grimm got in the town, nobody knows how and now there is some guy claiming to have put bombs in public places all over the city"

"Who says they've placed bombs"

"Roman, fucking, Torchwick"

Shayne's face hardened at his mention.

"Okay, you guys go back to Beacon, and get all the teams dealing with this to fall back, we've got this"

"But Shayne…"

"No Ashe, I know you're not part of my team but I know you'll do as I say, now go"

"Shayne what's going on?"

He turned to AGIS.

"Roman Torchwick is causing a stir with bomb threats, im gonna call him out on it and yo guys are gonna find the bombs and deal with them"

"Shayne, Roman is an asshole, but he's tricky, you'll need some support" Jiang said having heard rumors, Ralen and Lance both stepped forward.

"Lance you'll be better with me, anyway Ralen, if you find one I need you to get rid of it" he nodded

"Shayne, be careful, you know that the White Fang are gonna be crawling all over the place"

"Before we go Shayne, Frank Lance and Velvet are out here somewhere"

"Fuck! Well before you go back find them and take them with you" Vossler nodded and the teams broke apart, all staying in radio contact.

* * *

Shayne and Lance walked to the marketplace. Shayne set his Scroll to broadcast and typed a message.

'Well, I'm here Roman, where the fuck are you'

"Now what?" Lance asked

"Now, we wait"

They didn't have to wait long before a Bullhead glided to a hover above the market. White Fang dropped down on ropes before it landed, Shayne was hoping his bluff had worked and he had an ace up his sleeve.

The bullhead landed softly and Roman walked down the ramp.

"Well, Shayne, I believe you've already met my associate" Shayne felt breathing on his neck and dove forward evading an axe that would have cleaved him in half. Shayne turned and glared at the man.

"You...!"

**Okay im not going to lie, i haven't got anymore chapters in reserve, so im going to have to take a break to write them, if you want some advance warning on when the next chapter is coming up, follow me on twitter. Drop me a PM if you have any questions. other than that if you haven't already done so, check out GuyFromPandora's story, Remnants shield, he could use some support so leave him a review or something. anyway you guys are great and as always thanks for reading.**

**-TheWolfbane987**


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